MX Sports and the AMA Motocross Championship Establish Partnership with Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports

MORGANTOWN, WV - MX Sports has announced a promotional partnership with Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports, to help produce the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Presented by FMF, beginning with the 2009 season. Alli, which is owned and operated by NBC and MTV, is a global business that joins the former Action Sports Tour properties (AST) with Maloof Money Cup and the King of Wake series.

Alli will partner with MX Sports in growing the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship, which was founded in 1972, on a worldwide level through unique opportunities in television programming, global media content distribution, online coverage, sponsorship sales, marketing and promotion. The companies will work in harmony to develop an even stronger connection with the youth demographic by increasing the exposure of American motocross, while at the same time maintaining the sport's tradition and heritage.

"The key to this partnership is that it gives us the ability to grow our sport significantly," explained MX Sports Vice President Davey Coombs. "Together MX Sports and Alli can transform what's already a prestigious championship series and expand it for everyone - the athletes, the race teams, the motorcycle industry, and of course our loyal fans.

"We have the unique opportunity to make the necessary changes motocross needs to grow as an action sport, while also protecting its rich heritage," added Coombs. "This newfound relationship with Alli is a significant step forward for motocross, and we are proud to join the Alliance of Action Sports."

"The AMA Motocross Championships is the premiere outdoor series in motocross," said Wade Martin, President of Alli. "We are thrilled to be working with the team at MX Sports to bring the AMA Motocross Championships to an even wider audience and help grow this terrific sport and property."

MX Sports and Alli will team up to push the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship in front of a much wider audience. A revamped 12-race tour, featuring Saturday afternoon and evening races and live television, headlines the 2009 season and serves as the template for the new partnership.

The 2009 AMA Toyota Motocross Championship Presented by FMF kicks off on Memorial Day weekend, May 23, from Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California; the tour will conclude Labor Day Weekend at Steel City Raceway near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

For more information, please contact AMA Toyota Motocross Championship media coordinator Brandon Short via email at brandon@nextlevelsportsinc.com or by telephone at (949) 365-5752.

About MX Sports

MX Sports, LLC, owns, manages and produces the two most prestigious and world leading Motocross championships - the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship and the Air Nautiques AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship.

MX Sports is a second generation family-owned business that has been in operation for well over 25 years and is an industry leader in the segment of off-road/action sports race promotion in the United States.

Through its various racing properties, partnerships and affiliates, MX Sports fields more than 60,000 action sports athletes each year and attracts millions of active fans, spectators and enthusiasts. For more information on MX Sports, please visit www.mxsports.com.

Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports

Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports, is a global business that encompasses national and international action sports tours and events, multimedia production, and a consumer facing lifestyle brand. The Alliance includes: the Dew Tour, Winter Dew Tour, China Invitational, Maloof Money Cup, AMA Motocross Championship, King of Wake series, and the Free Flow Tour; Alli Productions, which creates original content, produces and presents content with partners, and distributes Alli content through a variety of channels. Alli is owned by NBC Sports and MTV Networks and represents a network of athletes, fans, brands and properties. Its mission is to facilitate the momentous growth of action sports, through competition and lifestyle, for a new generation of fans and athletes. The Alli properties are home to more than 550,000 spectators each year and broadcasts more than 150 hours of original content in 100 countries and 280 million homes worldwide. More information can be found at www.allisports.com.

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Alliance of Action Sports

Image via WikipediaNEW YORK – NBC Sports and MTV, a division of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), announced today the creation of Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports™. Alli is a global business that joins the former Action Sports Tour properties (AST) with Maloof Money Cup, AMA Motocross Championship and King of Wake series to create the most diverse and robust action-sports offering in the world. The new umbrella brand, which will continue to be co-owned by NBC Sports and MTV, will offer a schedule of seven national and international action sports tours and events, multimedia content and production, a digital hub and consumer-facing lifestyle brand.

Building on the successful foundation of AST, Alli will serve as the owner and operator of the Dew Tour and Winter Dew Tour, Free Flow Tour, and the China Invitational. In addition, Alli has formed partnerships with industry leaders and premier properties: Maloof Money Cup, the AMA Motocross Championships, and the King of Wake series. Alli partners will continue to manage their respective events with the added benefit of television programming on NBC Sports and MTV, global media content distribution, sponsorship sales, and marketing and promotion across all platforms. A soon-to-be-launched digital hub will also serve as the online destination for all Alli properties and a leading source of all action sports content and news.

This announcement comes six months after the groundbreaking joint venture between NBC and MTV around the AST and its related businesses. This wide-ranging, strategic partnership expanded the business across NBC and MTV's multiple screens, including action sports competition and youth-focused lifestyle programming, cross-promotion, multi-platform content and distribution, consumer products licensing and an enhanced digital offering. Moving forward under the Alli brand, the partnership will include over 80 hours of original programming offered annually across NBC, USA Network, MTV and MTV2

“Alli’s mission is to facilitate the momentous growth of action sports by showcasing both the competition and lifestyle aspect of these sports. We believe these are the sports of a new generation and Alli will bring together the best properties, athletes, and brands globally for the fans of action sports,” says Wade Martin, President of Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports.

“When NBC Sports launched the Dew Tour we knew there would be an opportunity to expand into other action sports. We are excited to bring the best programming across the entire action sports genre on multiple media distribution platforms to our audience,” says Kevin Monaghan, Senior Vice President, Business Development, NBC Sports &
Olympics.

Added Jeff Yapp, Executive Vice President of Program Enterprises for MTV Networks Music & Logo Group, “This is a major step in building the business we imagined when we first partnered with NBC Sports. Building our online platform, creating a lifestyle brand, and expanding original content will positively impact the network of partners, athletes, fans and the action sports industry as a whole, which is everything that the alliance represents”.

An overview of the Alli properties is as follows:

Maloof Money Cup
Held for the first time in 2008, the Maloof Money Cup, owned and operated by the Maloof family, has quickly become the premier skateboarding event within the community and attracts every top athlete. Including three professional competitions – Men’s and Women’s Pro Street, and Men’s Pro Vert – and the Amateur Championships, it boasts the largest single event purse in skateboarding with over $450,000 in prize money.

AMA Motocross Championship
AMA Motocross Championship is the top outdoor series in motocross and draws elite rider talent from all around the world. The MX Sports-organized series, which began in 1972, spans 12 races across the U.S., and at the end of each year, the AMA National Motocross Championship titles are awarded based on the riders’ performances over
the entire series.

King of Wake
As the elite pro wakeboarding circuit, the King of Wake series has attracted the sport’s top riders from throughout the globe. With more than $300,000 in prize money over the eight-event season, riders compete over the course of the year to be named the “King of Wake” – an award based on points accumulated at each stop of the series. Events include Wake Games, Pro Wakeboard Tour (5 events), WWA National Championships, and WWA World Championships. The King of Wake is organized by World Sports & Marketing – the leading wake event producers since 1988.

Dew Tour
The Dew Tour, the premier season-long series in action sports, consists of five major, multi-sport events, featuring skateboarding (park and vert), BMX (park, vert, and dirt), and FMX. Dew Tour is the most watched and attended action sports property in the world with over 250k spectators, 41 million total viewers and reaches over 100 countries worldwide. The events extend across the country, have a cumulative points system, and a $3.5 million competitive purse. The Dew Tour has been the cornerstone property of AST over the last four years, and its success has now enabled the formation of Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports. It crowns year-end champions including past Dew Cup winners Ryan Sheckler, Shaun White, Bucky Lasek, Jamie Bestwick, and Nate Adams.

Winter Dew Tour
The Winter Dew Tour is launching in December of ’08, and will expand Alli’s footprint into the winter action sports. It consists of three major, multi-sport events spanning across the country, with a cumulative points system, and a $1.5 million competitive purse. The tour will feature 29 hours of original television programming. Each event features men and women’s snowboard (superpipe and slopestyle), and men’s freeskiing (superpipe and slopestyle). Top athletes, Shaun White, Hannah Teter, Travis Rice, Simon Dumont, and Danny Kass, are already planning to compete.

Free Flow Tour
The Free Flow Tour, the Dew Tour’s official amateur series, provides amateur athletes the opportunity to earn a chance to compete against the pros in the Dew Tour. The Free Flow Tour consists of 50 events across 26 cities in the U.S.,
featuring skateboarding and BMX. The winners of the Free Flow Tour Finals compete against the pros at the Dew Tour's PlayStation Pro in Orlando, Fla. Past Free Flow Tour winners include Chaz Ortiz (2007 Dew Cup Winner, Skate Park) and Mike Spinner (2008 Dew Tour Second Place, BMX Park).

China Invitational
The China Invitational is Alli’s first international expansion initiative. The inaugural China Invitational was held in April 2008 in Beijing, China and featured the top skateboarders competing in vert and park disciplines before a capacity crowd.