News Corp and FromOne Partner on BallBall Digital European Football Video Offering in Japan

News Corp and FromOne Partner on BallBall Digital European Football Video Offering in Japan

NEW YORK/TOKYO (May 14, 2014) -NWS Digital Asia Pte Limited, a subsidiary of News Corp, announced today that it has formed a strategic partnership with FromOne Co., Ltd. (FromOne) to represent BallBall (BallBall.com), its exclusive digital European football platform in Japan for mobile and online.

As News Corp's partner, FromOne will distribute, promote and monetise the official and exclusive European football video content offering on BallBall in Japan, from now to 30th June 2016.

The BallBall platform is the only one in Japan where football fans can watch every goal from every game from the top five major European football leagues - the English Premier League (England), La Liga (Spain), Serie A (Italy), Bundesliga (Germany), and Ligue 1 (France). This was clearly demonstrated recently when the Japanese international Keisuke Honda's first goal for AC Milan against Genoa was watched on BallBall more than 475,000 times in less than 48 hours.

BallBall, which is available via desktop, laptop, mobile and tablet, covers more than 40 matches weekly in the local language and generates up to 100 video clips on an exclusive basis. This match video content is also available via the BallBall branded video player for distribution partners to have on their websites and Facebook pages.

BallBall, in addition to exclusive football video, has access to real-time match data feeds and written editorial coverage, commentary and analysis from News Corp's globally recognised publications, including The Sun and The Times, and engages with football fans on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

In addition to Japan, News Corp's BallBall is in Indonesia and Vietnam. All editorial content and social media posts on BallBall are in the local language, with News Corp hiring market leaders in football content creation in Tokyo, Jakarta and Hanoi.

According to Ms. Anoushka Healy, Chief Strategy Officer for News Corp: We are pleased to be working with FromOne, a prominent digital media company in Japan with expertise in sport, business and entertainment. Through this partnership, we plan to ensure that BallBall is a leading digital football destination in Japan and provides lots of excitement for football fans throughout the country.

According to Sumio Kobayashi, Chairman of FromOne: We are honored to be appointed as News Corp's launch partner for BallBall, which is a unique service for football fans in Japan. FromOne has over 17 years experience in the football industry. We have always been at the forefront of innovation to better serve the football fan in Japan. BallBall is the next step in that direction, as football fans adopt digital ways of enjoying the beautiful game. We look forward to partnering with News Corp to make BallBall the best service of its kind in our country.

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About News Corp's NWS Digital Asia Pte Limited

News Corp's NWS Digital Asia Pte Limited, headquartered in Singapore, is a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corp. Japan is one of three launch markets for BallBall, along with Indonesia and Vietnam. The business enjoys the benefits from the parent company including industry best practice, technology vendor relationships from the New York headquarters and premium football content from the London newsrooms. BallBall seeks to connect with young, urban, smart device owning football fans who appreciate the benefits of local language editorial content and social media coupled with European football match video.

About FromOne Japan

Established in 1997, FromOne is Japan's leading football publishing, digital media, e-commerce and futsal venue operating company that also works closely with the J-League (Japan's Professional Soccer League) and its club teams. FromOne frequently organizes live viewing events with broadcasters and on-ground fan activation events with brands across Japan. FromOne is the publisher of well-known, market-leading, print and digital titles such as Soccerking.com [Soccer News Site]; World Soccer King [Magazine]; Samurai Soccer King [Magazine]; J-League Soccer King [Magazine]; and, Soccer Game King [Magazine]. FromOne also exclusively operates the Japanese language websites of major European clubs, such as Manchester United and Inter Milan.

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