Nokia providing sporting coverage to mobile phones in US

Nokia has begun delivering live audio broadcasts, real time scoring and streaming video highlights from American National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) to mobile phones in America. The system requires a Nokia 6600 imaging phone and is the first of its type, offering a glimpse of live sports action in the future.

While the roar of the hot dogs and fresh-cut grass and the smell of the crowd may be absent, Nokia is delivering the next best thing direct to mobile phones thanks to a tie-up with two of the three major sports leagues in America.

With the most recent signing of an agreement with MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, baseball is the most recent content added to the Nokia Sports application. Along with real-time scoring and statistics, subscribers to the service can receive from MLB.com, the official league website, live audio broadcasts of every game (with your choice of broadcast bias - you can choose of the home or away team's broadcast ) daily video highlight packages, game images, league news, current standings and more.

Now available in the US for owners of the Nokia 6600 imaging phone and soon to be available for the Nokia 6620 imaging phone and a compatible data plan, the Nokia Sports application can be downloaded from http://www.nokiausa.com/ .

Once downloaded, users can enjoy a free trial (data charges still apply) that includes full access to all available Major League Baseball content. After the trial period has expired, users can subscribe to the service for US$7.99 per month. The monthly charge for NBA is US$4.99.