Microsoft Batter Up!!!

Microsoft claims it has reinvented America's favorite pastime through its partnership with LivePlanet, the Los Angeles-based Emmy-nominated production company. The fruit of their collaboration materialize today as MSN's new online series christened "Fan Club: Reality Baseball". The Fan Club will air on the same day as the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, and will star Chicago's minor league team Schaumburg Flyers.

Baseball fans and MSN users can access rich and compelling digital content bundled with interactivity in an innovative environment unlike fantasy baseball or rotisserie leagues that were the traditional offers of franchise owning or team management.

The two companies' partnership was joined by Schematic. The interactive agency brings to the table specialized design, technology and marketing solutions for multiplatform initiatives. For a revolutionary online entertainment experience all that baseball fans have to do is to log in to MSN, and share the intricacies of the game, both on and off the field, together with the Schaumburg Flyers.

"MSN reaches a global audience of hundreds of millions of people that are passionate about great content," said Rob Bennett, general manager of Entertainment and Video Services for MSN. "By delivering great original, interactive programming like 'Fan Club: Reality Baseball,' we are giving them an opportunity to participate and shape the content experience."

"This is an incredible opportunity to bring a brand-new form of interactive storytelling to MSN's many millions of users - a much larger audience than can typically be reached today on TV," said Larry Tanz, CEO of LivePlanet. "'Fan Club' has something for everyone: the thrills of pro sports and the drama and humor of tangled human relationships. The close-up and personal view of baseball that MSN Originals provides in 'Fan Club' is better than a reality television series. Fans run the team and call the shots. It's like they say in the great movie 'Bull Durham': baseball is full of magic and cosmic truth. 'Fan Club: Reality Baseball' puts that vivid world online and allows anyone with a PC to be a player."