October 29, 2008 - The arenafootball2 League (af2) and Network Foundation Technologies (NFT) are pleased to announce the renewal of their partnership for the 2009 season that will once again bring the action of af2 football into the homes of fans worldwide. The FREE-for-View online network called “af2TV” will showcase every game of the league’s 10th anniversary season live over the Internet beginning in March.
af2TV, powered by NFT’s patented online broadcasting technology, was developed and successfully implemented in 2008. NFT’s unique set-up is the Internet’s most efficient and successful method available for broadcasting live events. The technology makes it possible for af2 games to reach unlimited audiences in geographically diverse areas of the globe. In the inaugural season of af2TV, close to 250,000 online viewers from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and 40 nations from five different continents logged in to view af2 games throughout the 2008 season.
With the increased demand from online viewers, NFT will continue to improve its technology for the 2009 season by rolling out a whole new version of the af2TV player with all-new features to enhance the viewing experience.
“This new version of af2TV will support a bit rate twice as high as was used last season, and as a result picture quality will be substantially improved over last season – especially in full-screen mode. NFT is also in the process of adding an all new Video-On-Demand feature to enable fans to rewatch games from earlier in the season,” said Dr. Mike O’Neal, Founder and Chief Scientist of NFT.
More Awards:
he Arena Football League 2 (af2) recently handed out 14 special awards recognizing some of the outstanding work done by its member teams in various off-field areas. The Corpus Christi Sharks were a notable honoree, claiming more top awards than any of the other 29 af2 franchises!
The Sharks earned top honors in three categories-Best Community Relations Program, Best Game Operations Clip, and winner of the Af2 Cares Award. The Sharks also received runner-up recognition for “Best Photo” and a third place finish for “Best Compliance Officer”.
These weren’t the only notable accomplishments for the franchise. The team set a new single game attendance record of (5,812), as well as an average attendance increase of more 1,000 fans per game to almost 4,600. In addition, the Sharks experienced over a 100% increase in both season tickets and corporate sponsorships during the 2008 campaign. Other improvements included the introduction of a special All-You-Can –Eat section at each home game, increased VIP Box seating opportunities, an Exclusive Season Ticket Holder entrance, and the STAR (Season Ticket Holder Annual Rewards) Program.
The Sharks off-field success was matched on the field as the franchise ended the 2008 season leading all of af2 in Punt Returns and Punt Returns for Touchdowns. The Sharks also had the top Offensive Line in the Southwest Division and took claim to the #1 Red Zone defense in the entire National Conference.
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