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Friday, 05 June 2009

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“STRIKEFORCE: ALL ACCESS”

Mixed Martial Arts Event to Stream Simultaneously

With Live SHOWTIME Telecast of STRIKEFORCE: “Lawler vs. Shields";

Saturday, June 6, From ScottradeCenter in St. Louis, Mo.

NEW YORK (June 3, 2009)—SHOWTIME® will once again offer Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fans STRIKEFORCE: All Access, the cutting edge online interactive experience, live on Saturday, June 6, for STRIKEFORCE: Lawler vs. Shields from Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.

The immersive digital initiative will stream simultaneously with the live SHOWTIME telecast beginning at 10 p.m. ET*.

STRIKEFORCE: All Access debuted on April 11, 2009, when world-class MMA promoter STRIKEFORCE brought Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz to SHOWTIME.

“With our first event on April 11, we set the bar at a new level,” said Ken Hershman, Senior Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports. “From the quality of the fights, to the television production and the interactive applications, our first offering of All Access was well received. This network has proven time and time again to be on the cutting edge of sports entertainment. All Access further demonstrates our commitment to leading the television industry in online, mobile, and interactive content distribution.”

STRIKEFORCE: All Access will cost $24.95 per user and is available for review and pre-order beginning Thursday, June 4, by visiting http://strikeforce.sho.com.

With All Access, fans can be the director. Toggle between five live cameras—including SHOWTIME Sports exclusive CageCam®—with full pause and rewind capabilities. Audio tracks will include the SHOWTIME telecast fight call by host and play-by-play man Gus Johnson, and color commentators Frank Shamrock and Mauro Ranallo, and the corresponding audio to the selected camera. SHOWTIME is working with BitGravity, Inc. and Episodic, Inc. to enable this unique multi-camera experience.

CageCam, a small and high quality camera worn by the referee, takes viewers inside the cage during the live fights. It is the closest and most intimate viewing experience ever presented in MMA. CageCam debuted on SHOWTIME February 16, 2008.

Users will also see a live Twitter feed from fans talking about Strikeforce and following SHOSports http://twitter.com/SHOsports . Fans can contribute content alongside SHOWTIME Sports’ behind-the-scenes staff throughout the evening by adding “#strikeforce” to their tweets.

Through a Facebook® Connect application, fans will be able to make predictions, comment on the live fights, discuss outcomes and even talk a little smack directly on the All Access page.

Other features include professional and amateur photography from the spectacle in the arena. Photos from action in the cage, as well as behind-the-scenes, backstage and fan interaction will all be posted. Images will be uploaded during the live event via Flickr, the popular image and video hosting website and online community.

The June 6 fight card features a showdown of top ranked fighters “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields in the main event. Lawler, a world top-10 middleweight, and Shields, ranked among the top-5 welterweights in the world, will face off at a catch weight of 182 pounds. In a heavyweight showdown sponsored by Affliction, top-10 ranked heavyweight and former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski will face unbeaten sensation Brett “The Grim” Rogers. Fresh off their respective thrilling wins in the premier of Strikeforce on SHOWTIME (April 11), the versatile Nick Diaz and knockout artist Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith will meet in a special 180-pound showdown. Additionally, “The New York Badass” Phil Baroni (13-10) will collide with Joe “Diesel” Riggs (29-10) in a 170-pound contest and Kevin “The Monster” Randleman (17-12) will face Mike “Iron” Whitehead (23-6) in a 205-pound clash.

*Telecast airs live at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME (delayed on the West Coast); STRIKEFORCE: All Access will be webcast live at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.

CageCam® is a registered trademark of Showtime Networks Inc.