Intel invests in sports content
Intel makes an equity investment in Quokka Sports, a digital sports media company.
As part of the deal, Quokka Sports said it will work with Intel on the delivery of sports-related content via the Internet and broadband connections.
Intel will provide technologies to Quokka Sports in an effort to enable the company to create and deliver multimedia-enriched sport-related content over the Internet and other networks, such as cable infrastructure.
Quokka Sports will aggregate the video, audio, and other data at sports venues and events, and will track timing, scoring, and results systems, according to the company.
"Intel will continue to play an enabling role in the development of new forms of content that showcase the potential of today's powerful PCs," Claude Leglise, vice president of Intel's content group, said in a statement.
The first prototype application will be delivered in the second quarter of 1999, according to Quokka. It will include an event viewer that allows fans to switch back and forth between multiple video and data feeds, as well as other applications, for interactive virtual competition in real time.
"Intel is an infrastructure company...they don't have content, but they want people who will [need greater bandwidth] and who will need faster chips to support it," said Margaret Wennmachers, a Quokka spokeswoman. "What Quokka gets out of it is the stature of Intel behind it."
The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
Last week, Intel announced it would invest $500 million to $1 billion in computer-related South Korean companies. In December, the chip giant announced a far-reaching partnership with enterprise software maker Platinum Technology (PLAT) and made a less than 5 percent equity investment in the company.
(Intel is an investor in CNET: The Computer Network).