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B2 Networks Provides Online Broadcasts For ECHL All-Star Game, Skills Competition

January 13, 2010 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL announced that B2 Networks, the "Official Broadband Broadcast Provider of the ECHL," will again be the exclusive online provider of the audio and video broadcasts of the 2010 ECHL All-Star Game and All-Star Skills Competition presented by Reebok Hockey and brought to you by Toyota and the City of Ontario.

The game will be broadcast using B2 Express which is the new free-to-view platform now used exclusively for all live free programming on B2 Networks. The ECHL All-Star Game marks the first time that a professional league has used B2 Express which has had more than 200,000 logins since being introduced in August for NCAA football.

The 2010 ECHL All-Star Game presented by Reebok Hockey and brought to you by Toyota and the City of Ontario will be hosted by the Ontario Reign at Citizens Business Bank Arena and played on Jan. 20, 2010 while the 2010 ECHL All-Star Skills Competition will be held on Jan. 19, 2010.

The video broadcasts of the All-Star Game and the Skills Competition will be available free of charge through ECHL.com and on B2TV.com. The video broadcast will require a high-speed internet connection and a current version of Microsoft Windows Media Player.

The audio broadcast of the All-Star Game will begin at 6:45 p.m. PT on Jan. 20 and the video broadcast of the Skills Competition and the All-Star Game begin at 7 p.m. PT on Jan. 19 and 20, respectively.

The video broadcast will feature Jack Michaels of the Alaska Aces, veteran NHL analyst Neil Smith and Doug Plagens of the Idaho Steelheads. The audio broadcast will have Mike Benton of the Stockton Thunder, Mike Modugno of the Kalamazoo Wings and Joseph Zakrzewski of the South Carolina Stingrays and will be produced by Doug Lane of NHL Radio.

B2 Networks launched B2CableTV.com, a free 24-hour cable-style network that has hundreds of TV-style programming channels on the internet, in 2008. The first channel on the new network was ECHLTV which each week airs a series of games from the previous week that fans can watch 24 hours a day for free. To watch ECHLTV fans can go to B2 CableTV.com and click on the "Hockey" tab. Viewers will need a high-speed internet connection and a current version of Microsoft Windows Media Player.

B2 Networks has broadcast ECHL games around the globe the last seven years including the Kelly Cup Finals and the ECHL All-Star Game. The first hockey game broadcast by B2 Networks was the Las Vegas Wranglers in February 2004 and the first hockey championship carried by B2 Networks was the 2004 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

B2 Networks is a premier provider of reliable and secure international television and pay-per-view broadcasting systems. B2's installed technologies and worldwide network of arenas, stadiums, local venues and data centers are currently in use to distribute live sports and entertainment programming to personal computers, television screens, mobile devices and commercial venues around the world. Working with professional sports leagues, teams, NCAA and NAIA institutions and producers of entertainment programming, B2 Networks has established itself as a leader in innovative global direct to home, mobile and television broadcasting. The B2 Networks LIVE Programming Guide is available at B2TV.com while B2CableTV.com provides 24-hour cable-style programming.

Seven coaches from the ECHL All-Star Game have gone on to coach in the National Hockey League while 58 players from the contest have gone on to play in the NHL, including 33 since 2002 when the lineups began having players who coaches felt were prospects to move up to a higher level.

The third class will be inducted into the the ECHL Hall of Fame on Jan. 20, 2010 during a luncheon ceremony at the Hilton Ontario Airport, the official host hotel of the 2010 ECHL All-Star Game presented by Reebok Hockey and brought to you by Toyota and the City of Ontario. The featured speaker at the ECHL Hall of Fame luncheon will be Hockey Hall of Fame member and Los Angeles Kings President of Business Operations Luc Robitaille.

Tickets for the luncheon are $40 each or a table with seven tickets can be purchased for $250. The Ontario Reign is offering a special ticket package that includes a ticket to the ECHL Hall of Fame luncheon, the All-Star Skills Competition, the Fan Fest at Dave & Busters and the ECHL All-Star Game for only $75. To purchase tickets visit OntarioReign.com/team/allstar/ or telephone the Ontario Reign at (909) 941-7825.

The past seven ECHL All-Star Games have generated more than $1 million each for the local economy as guests, players, coaches and fans occupy hundreds of hotel rooms and spend three days in the host city.

The game has been available live on the NHL Network the last seven years as well as being broadcast on multiple regional networks. The audio broadcast has been carried on XM Satellite Radio as well as being available in all ECHL markets.

The Stanley Cup and the Patrick J. Kelly Cup will both be on display throughout the event, marking the 10th time in the last 11 years that the NHL championship trophy and the ECHL championship trophy have been displayed together at the All-Star Game.

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