Alli Sports Expands Into E-Commerce With Acquisition of Standard Boardshop

BURR RIDGE, Ill., June 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Alli Sports, the MTV/NBC Universal joint venture on action sports, today announced the acquisition of Standard Boardshop and the official launch of the Alli Shop. www.Allisports.com -- already a leading online source of action sports content and news, and the digital hub for the Dew Tour, Winter Dew Tour, Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, Gatorade Free Flow Tour and King of Wake Series -- will now connect fans with their favorite action sports brands and products with the new e-commerce expansion.  Standard Boardshop, which was originally a skateboard product focused retailer, has now evolved and expanded into the Alli Shop which will feature apparel from the leading youth-facing brands in skateboarding, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross.

"The acquisition of Standard Boardshop, and subsequent launch of the Alli Shop, is an exciting and important move for Alli and central to our growth strategy," said Wade Martin, President and CEO of Alli. "The action sports consumer products industry is a significant market, and is directly influenced by the athletes, events, lifestyle and content that have been the cornerstone of our business."

"We have built an unparalleled platform and audience through our events, media and marketing power," he adds.  "As we move forward, we will utilize that platform to participate in more transactional revenue streams with Alli Shop as the foundation of those efforts."

Alli Shop and the newly revamped www.Allisports.com will also be the beneficiary of a fully integrated marketing program around all Alli events and television programming on NBC, MTV2, USA and Universal HD.  To view the 2010 Alli Sports 30-second spot, past the link below into your browser:

http://www.Allisports.com/commercial

With the acquisition of Standard Boardshop, founder Pete McAfee and his employees will join Alli and run the day-to-day operations for Alli Shop.

"Myself and the rest of the Standard Boardshop team couldn't be more excited to join the Alli family," said McAfee, General Manager of Consumer Products for Alli. "Alli Shop will allow consumers the opportunity to shop online for the latest in apparel and products from many of the top brands while at the same time consuming in-depth editorial content."

Alli Shop will feature the top brands in action sports.  New products from brands like Lakai, Emerica, DC, Etnies, Nike 6.0, Volcom, Altamont, RVCA, Burton, ThrityTwo, Fox, Metal Mulisha, Plan B and Zero will be the backbone of the e-commerce platform.  In addition to online shopping at shop.allisports.com, the Alli Shop will include an on-site version at various Alli events including the Dew Tour events this summer. Fans attending these events will get a one-of-a-kind retail experience with their favorite action sport brands.

"The launch of Alli Shop helps connect our fans to authentic action sports brands with a state of the art shopping experience," said Chris Miller, Chief Creative Director for Alli. "As our business continues to evolve, the Alli brand will become synonymous with everything action sports."

Alli Sports has also completely revamped the look, feel and navigation of www.Allisports.com, creating a distinct Alli site focused on premium editorial content while integrating the Alli network of unique, exclusive tour and event sub-sites – the Dew Tour, Winter Dew Tour, Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, Gatorade Free Flow Tour and King of Wake Series. The e-commerce platform will be integrated in all aspects of the site including video content, editorial and athlete pages.  A large-scale, state-of-the-art video player from Ooyala has also been added to the site for live streaming and digital content. The industries top technology firms, OmniTI and Hard Candy Shell, aided in the site development and information architecture.

"The new and improved www.Allisports.com is positioned for optimum growth in 2010 and in years to come," said Doug Kirk, Vice President of Digital Media for Alli. "The consumer experience and site interaction will be enhanced with greater media technologies. We worked closely with OmniTI and Hard Candy Shell to build the best site within the action sports space."

Led by industry veterans Chris Miller, Roger Harrell and Chris Ortiz, www.Allisports.com now has a fully dedicated editorial staff based out of the recently opened Carlsbad, Calif. office. The Alli Shop will also run out of the California Alli Sports office.

For more information on Alli, Alli Shop, and to experience the revamped site, fans can log onto www.Allisports.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, Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship, King of Wake series, and the Gatorade 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. More information can be found at www.Allisports.com.

NBC Universal

NBC Universal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates the No. 1 television network, the fastest-growing Spanish-language network, a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%- owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi Universal.

MTV Networks

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 150 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services - MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, LOGO, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, THE N, VH1 CLASSIC, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 300 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

SOURCE Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports