The NFL, Fox Sports and Starwave Corp. released details
on the official World Wide Web site for Super Bowl XXXI
located at http://superbowl.com. It will be launched
December 21 and include a live cybercast of the game, with
on-air and online cross-promo between Fox Sports' Super Bowl
telecast and the site (NFL). IBM will be the official
exclusive sponsor of the site, in a deal which the NFL
claims "is the biggest online sponsorship to date of an
event-specific Web site." Sources "close to the company"
say that IBM is not planning to advertise on the Super Bowl
TV broadcast. Terms were not disclosed (AD AGE, 12/18).
ONLINE NEWS & NOTES: New England Sports Network has
launched World Wide Web site, NESN SportsCiruit, featuring
scores of New England sports teams, articles, schedules,
interviews and more (CABLE WORLD, 12/16)....Bowl fans can
get extensive bowl information at http://www.bowltickets.com
(WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/19)....In Seattle, Flores & Haines
write that Starwave and MSNBC "are pursuing deals that could
set up a head-to-head competition between the two local
stars of the worldwide Internet scene." MSNBC is developing
a "full-blown sports operation" to rival the Starwave and
ESPN's SportsZone site, which is expected to launch during
the NBA playoffs next spring (SEATTLE TIMES, 12/18).