CSTV to Launch with Free Offer

CSTV: College Sports Television will launch Feb. 23 with coverage of a
women's NCAA basketball tournament -- part of a six week free preview the
service is offering to operators.

CSTV will air the Notre Dame-Connecticut Big East women's-basketball game,
which features the last two NCAA champions, president Brian Bedol said. The game
will launch the network's six-week free preview of CSTV, which operators can
offer on systems.

"This is a tremendous opportunity to showcase our commitment to college
sports -- and to women's sports, in particular -- to operators and fans alike,"
said Bedol, who launched Classic Sports Network (now ESPN Classic) in the
1990s.

"Our mission is to become the ultimate home of college-sports programming,
and this highly anticipated game will capture the passion and electricity we'll
present to viewers on a regular basis," he added.

The network also announced Wednesday that it has secured $25 million in
financing from several investors, including lead investor Constellation
Ventures, Chilton Investment Co., Court Square Ventures LLC, Allen & Co. and
Wasserman Holdings Inc.

Other investment partners include Athlon Ventures (comprised of athletes
Kevin Garnett, Tiki Barber, Antonio McDyess, Brian Urlacher and Michael
Johnson), CSI Capital Management, Ackerley Partners LLC and National Football
League Hall of Fame member Joe Namath, the network said.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.