Contact:

Nick Stamm STATS 847-583-2110 stamm@stats.com

John Acunto NBA 212-407-8255 jacunto@nba.com

NBA Teams Up With STATS To Distribute Comprehensive Statistical Information Leading Sports Information Provider To Also Develop and Manage NBA Fantasy Game: NBA.com Ultimate Fantasy Commissioner New York, NY and Morton Grove, IL - July 11, 2006 - The NBA and STATS LLC, the world's leading sports information provider, announced today a new multi-year relationship making STATS an Official Real-Time Data Partner of the NBA, WNBA and NBA Development League. As part of the agreement, STATS will distribute complete NBA, WNBA and NBA Development League statistical information to broadcast, print, online and other outlets throughout the year. Additionally, during the NBA season STATS will host and develop NBA.com's free fantasy basketball game, NBA.com Ultimate Fantasy Commissioner, an upgrade of the site's NBA.com Fantasy Basketball League Manager. The new fantasy game will offer three different scoring formats, live stats, keeper leagues, the ability to customize rules and settings to fit any league's needs, and several tools and features exclusive to NBA.com. "For the NBA, statistics have always told the story of our game and it is imperative to have that information available to media and fans around the world in real-time," said Steve Grimes, NBA Senior Director of Interactive Services. "Working with STATS will continue to ensure the delivery of our statistics and enhance our fantasy offerings on NBA.com for the 2006-07 NBA season." "STATS is proud to be working closely with the NBA as an industry leader that will further leverage the league's statistical information and fantasy games to its world-wide fan base," said STATS Executive Vice President, Robert Schur. "This is an important milestone in our continuing efforts to deliver the best sports coverage available to our clients." About the NBA The NBA, founded in 1946, is a global sports and entertainment brand that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada. During the 2005-06 season, the NBA will distribute 44,000 hours of programming to 215 countries and territories in 43 languages. The league's worldwide reach can also be seen with 82 international players on NBA rosters. Domestically, the NBA broadcasted 142 games on national television this season on ABC, TNT, ESPN and ESPN2, and eclipsed the league's all-time attendance record for the third consecutive season. NBA TV, launched in 1999 as the first 24-hour television channel created and operated by a professional sports league, will be distributed to 41 countries. NBA merchandise is sold in more than 100,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents, NBA.com gets more than half of its visitors from outside the United States and the league has a record 19 global and country-specific marketing partners. As fans witness tremendous performances on the court, some of the NBA's most significant efforts occur off the court. This past year, the league launched its most ambitious community outreach endeavor, NBA Cares. Over a five-year span, players and teams will raise and contribute $100 million for charity, donate more than one million hours of volunteer service to communities worldwide, and build more than 100 educational and athletic facilities where children can learn and play. For more information on the NBA, visit NBA.com. About STATS LLC STATS LLC offers the best from sports information leaders AP MegaSports and STATS, Inc. The combination provides unparalleled packages of premium sports content, from sports scores and statistics to editorial content. STATS' MegaSports product offers customers breaking sports news from AP's national wire, game previews and recaps, photos and audio content, scores, schedules and a variety of other sports-related content in a digital format. STATS' innovative sports information solutions are utilized in numerous business segments: professional teams; sports broadcast production, cable and satellite networks; interactive television; broadband, wireless and internet; game developers and fantasy sports providers; print media and wire services. STATS is owned jointly by the Associated Press and News Corporation. http://biz.stats.com # # #