LONDON--(Marketwire-February14,2012)-IMGMedia,partofIMGWorldwide,theglobalsports,fashionandmedia

company,hasteamedupwithelectronicsgiantPanasonicAvionicsCorporation(Panasonic),theworldleaderin

state-of-the-artin-flightentertainmentandcommunication(IFEC)systems,tolaunchthefirst-everliveglobalpremium

24-hoursportschannel--SPORT24--forairlinepassengersfromthisweek.Theground-breakingservice,whichisavailablethroughPanasonic'seXTVservice,isbeingbroadcastviasatellite

tospecially-equippedGulfAirplanesandfeaturelivecoverageofthe2012SummerOlympicGames,TheBarclaysPremier

League,andBundesliga,TheMasters,TheOpenChampionshipandtheRyderCup,Formula1,RolandGarrosandthe

AustralianOpen.ThechannelwillalsobeavailabletocruiselinersfromMarch1withNorwegianCruiseLiners(NCL)beingthefirst

operatortobroadcastSPORT24onselectedvessels.ThereareongoingdiscussionswithanumberofotherairlinesinterestedintakingtheserviceandGulfAir,Bahrain's

nationalairline,isinitiallyofferingSport24onits'SkyHub'whichiscurrentlyavailableonA330aircraftthatflylong-haul

andonsomeintra-GulfroutesincludingitsdestinationstoEurope,KualaLumpur,Bangkok,Jeddah,Manila,Lahore,

Islamabad.Panasonic'seXTVtelevisionnetworkusesthecompany'seXConnectin-flightKu-bandcommunicationsservice,including

thesameKuantennaandonboardcomponents,todeliverhigh-quality,televisionprogrammingtopassengersduring

theirflight.Itprovideslive,uninterruptedcontenttoaircraftflyingallovertheworld,evenoveroceans.IMGMedia,whoalreadyproducea24-hourPremierLeaguecontentservicefortheLeague'soverseasbroadcasters,

hasacquiredtherightstothevarioussportingeventsandprogrammingandwillbeproducingthecontentwithinitsLondon

productionfacility.RichardWise,SeniorVicePresident,IMGMedia,said:"Sport24willrevolutionisethewaypassengerswatchlivesports

onAirlinesandCruiseShips.Forthefirsttimeeverviewerswillbeabletoenjoythegreatestsportingeventslivewhile

travellingonbusinessorholidayingabroad.Sportfanswillnolongerhavetomisstheirfavouriteteam,oreventon

thisnewdedicatedsportschannel."DavidBruner,VicePresident,GlobalCommunicationServiceswithPanasonicAvionicsCorporation,said,"The

launchoftheSport24channelisamomentousoccasionnotonlyforPanasonic'seXTVservicebutforallofthein-flight

market.TheSport24channelrepresentsamajoradvancementinthein-flightexperienceforpassengersall

overtheworld.WeareexcitedtobeworkingwithIMGandtohaveGulfAirasourlaunchcustomer.Afterall,there's

nothingquitelikewatchingtheworld'stopsportingeventsliketheOlympics,live,onanaircraft,anywhereintheworld."GulfAirSeniorManagerofIn-FlightEntertainment&Communications,Mr.MohamadElAssaad,said:"Following

thesuccessfullaunchofour'SkyHub'wearenowbringingourcustomers,morelivechannelsandmoreprograms;the

Sport24channel,withanexceptional

arrayofliveactionisthelatestinourofferings.Nowourcustomersonboardcanwatchtheirfavoritesportsstars

liveat35000feetwithallexhilarationandenthusiasm."AboutIMGMediaIMGMediaistheworld'slargestindependentdistributorofsportsprogramming,distributingover20,000hoursof

contenttomajorglobalbroadcastersannually.Thiscontentoriginatesfrommorethan200clientsandeventsincluding

AELTC(Wimbledon),TennisAustralia(TheAustralianOpen),TPL(ATPMasters1000s),TheR&A(TheOpen

Championship),InternationalRugbyBoard(RugbyWorldCup),Dorna(MotoGP),NationalFootballLeague(NFL)

andInternationalVolleyballFederation(FIVB).IMGMediaoperatesfromover30officesworldwideandhasdaily

exchangeswithover4,000keymediacontacts.IMGMediadistributesacrossallformsofmediaincludingTV,

Audio,FixedMedia,InflightandClosedCircuit,BroadbandandMobile.IMGMediaalsomaintainstheworld'slargest

sportsarchivewithmorethan250,000hoursoffootage.AboutPanasonicAvionicsCorporationPanasonicAvionicsCorporationistheworld'sleadingsupplierofin-flightentertainmentandcommunication

systems.Thecompany'sbest-in-classsolutions,supportedbyprofessionalmaintenanceservices,fullyintegrate

withthecabinenablingairlinestodelivertheultimatetravelexperienceswitharichvarietyofentertainmentchoices,

resultinginimprovedqualitycommunicationsystemsandsolutions,andloweroverallcosts.Establishedin1979,

PanasonicAvionicsCorporation,aU.S.corporation,isasubsidiaryofPanasonicCorporationofNorthAmerica,

theprincipalNorthAmericansubsidiaryofPanasonicCorporation.HeadquarteredinLakeForest,Californiawithover

3,100employeesandoperationsin80locationsworldwide,itservesover200customersworldwideandprovides

IFECsystemsonover3,700aircraft.Foradditionalinformation,pleasevisitwww.panasonic.aero.AboutGulfAirFoundedin1950,GulfAiristheproudnationalcarrieroftheKingdomofBahrain.AsapioneeringairlineintheMiddleEast

regionwithoversixtyyearsofexperienceandexpertiseinflyingpeopleacrosscontinents,GulfAiristodayoneofthe

mostpowerfulbrandsandanametoreckonwithintheglobalaviationindustry.OneoftheprimeobjectivesofGulfAiristoconnectBahraintotheMiddleEastcountriesandtherestoftheworld.

AssuchtheairlinecurrentlyoperatesthelargestnetworkintheMiddleEastwithnon-stopflightswhileprovidingseamless

onwardconnectionstootherinternationaldestinations.Theairline'scurrentnetworkstretchesfromEuropetoAsia,

connecting54citiesin34countries,withafleetof36aircraft.IntunewiththeKingdom'seconomicblueprint,'Vision2030,'GulfAir'sstrategyistobuildanefficient,commercially

sustainableanddynamicairlinethateffectivelyservesthepeopleandtheeconomyofBahrainandrepresentstheKingdom

ontheworldstage.Reflectingtheneedsandaspirationsofitscustomers,thestrategyfocusesonthreecoreareas:atargeted,

morefocusedinternationalnetwork,asuperior,moreconsistentproductandamodern,moreefficientfleetthatwill

optimizevalue.GulfAir'sgoalreflectsacommitmenttothelatestaviationtechnologycomplementedbythehallmark

Arabianhospitalityforwhichtheairlineiswellknown.GulfAiristheofficialsponsorofthe2012FormulaOneGulfAir

BahrainGrandPrix.Mediacontacts:IMGGaryDoubleVicePresidentCorporateCommunications-EuropeTel:+442082337425+447768825114[email protected]PanasonicBrianBardwellTel:+1949.462.1742[email protected]GulfAirKatherineKaczynskaSeniorManagerCorporateCommunicationsGulfAirTel:+97317338416+97336500292[email protected]