Johannesburg, 17 Jul 2006
With World Cup fever slowly fizzling out around the globe, South African supporters are enthusiastically unpacking their vuvuzelas for the Vodacom International Challenge which will be taking place from 15 - 23 July between Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and Manchester United.
This year, with Vodacom`s Mobile TV service, fans who are unable to travel to a stadium to see their favourite teams play, can experience the action on their Vodacom Vodafone live! 3G cellphone, as it happens.
"Not only has Vodacom brought one of soccer`s greatest club teams to compete with our homegrown talent, but we are also making the matches more accessible to thousands of fans through our Mobile TV service," says Peter Matlare, Vodacom`s Executive Director: Commercial.
Local soccer fans with 3G Vodafone live! cellphones can watch the Vodacom Challenge on their cellphones from as little as R5 per day or R59 per month for unlimited viewing of all the channels - provided there is 3G network coverage available.
The tournament will take place from 15 July to 23 July and all matches will be broadcast on Yebo 3, Vodacom`s event-based channel, on the following dates:
* Saturday, 15 July: Man United vs Pirates, Absa Stadium, Durban
* Tuesday, 18 July: Man United vs Chiefs, Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
* Thursday, 20 July: Pirates v Chiefs, Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg
* Saturday, 22 July: Man United vs Winner (Chiefs/Pirates), Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Vodacom customers can watch these matches live. Customers simply need to push the Vodafone live! button, then select `TV and Video` from the Menu, go to Select All Channels and select the Yebo 3 channel from the wide variety of channels available.
Matlare continues: "Manchester United has 5.9 million fans in South Africa, with Chiefs and Pirates fans forming a majority 59.1% of total soccer supporters. Even though these fans can`t all support their teams in person, they can certainly be part of the action throughout the Challenge wherever they are - at the price of what a soft drink might have cost them at the match."
In December 2005 Vodacom was the first operator in Africa to launch Mobile TV and currently its customers in South Africa with 3G Vodafone live! cellphones are able to access up to 14 channels through this service, wherever 3G network coverage is available. The following channels are available:
Sky News
Keep your finger on the pulse of world events with a live 24-hour stream from one of the world`s pre-eminent news channels.
E! Entertainment
All the world is a stage: E! Entertainment brings you its hottest players. All the latest celeb gossip, red carpet moments, star bios and more - in the palm of your hand!
Ministry of Sound
Tune into the world`s biggest global dance band. Pumping sounds and sexy videos from the Ministry of Sound!
Bollywood
Bollywood straight from India!
Sneak previews
Get a FREE sneak preview of the amazing array of mobile entertainment now available on Vodafone.
TellyTrack
Watch the premium horse-racing channel on your handset. All the odds, stats and live racing action, all through the day!
Fashion TV
Keep on top of the latest trends 24/7 with the gold standard in fashion, beauty and style TV. Switch on to FTV`s glamorous world of elegant entertainment.
ChilliTV
Get a taste of the extreme life with on-the-edge sporting action - flip from the dunes to the waves and back again with adrenalin-pumping action direct to your cellphone from ChilliTV!
Yebo 1
Get the lowdown on all that`s hot and happening with this exclusive, homegrown, hip-to-the-joint, made-for-mobile entertainment channel - brought to you exclusively by Vodacom, and only on Vodafone live!
Yebo 2
Get the lowdown on all that`s hot and happening with this exclusive, homegrown, hip-to-the-joint, made-for-mobile entertainment channel - brought to you exclusively by Vodacom, and only on Vodafone live!
Yebo 3
Watch out for Yebo 3`s event-based thematic programming!
HBO Mobile
The award winning, most talked about, groundbreaking series are here, featuring "Six Feet Under" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm".
Fox TV
`24`: Conspiracy
Fans of "24" who cannot get enough of the exciting TV series simply have to switch on the mobile phone to watch the 24 serialised `mobisodes` of "24: Conspiracy". The 24 episodes in each series correspond to 24 hours in the life of the anti-terrorism agent.
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