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Grammy Winner Wyclef Jean Helps Bring 2006 NBA Playoffs to Haiti on Free TV Station Telemax.TV deal will allow for wide coverage of the NBA in Wyclef?s native country

NEW YORK, April 25 -- The National Basketball Association and Telemax, a free-to-air television outlet in Haiti, today announced a multiyear deal that will bring the 2006 NBA Playoffs to fans in Haiti. Grammy Award winning and Haitian born recording artist Wyclef Jean, founding member of the Fugees, and well known for his charitable acts in Haiti, is co-owner of Telemax and helped coordinate the deal to bring the NBA to his home country.

The multiyear deal with Telemax includes regular-season games, Playoff games and The Finals. Fans in Haiti will also receive NBA Action, an original series program, and NBA TV Daily, a daily service which offers a recap of all the latest news, highlights and statistics from around the league.

"This was inspired by my trips to Haiti where I saw the kids playing basketball in the streets," said Wyclef Jean. ?The next step is to put courts up for the kids.?

The 2006 NBA Playoffs will be seen in 215 countries with broadcasts in 43 different languages via 164 different television partners. NBA TV, the league?s 24-hour basketball network, will carry playoff action to a record 41 countries.

On April 5, Wyclef teamed up with Samuel Dalembert of the Philadelphia 76ers, the only Haitian player in the NBA, to host Haitian night at the Wachovia Center as Philadelphia played host to the Chicago Bulls.

Dalembert has contributed close to $75,000 to his home country while Wyclef heads up Yéle Haiti (www.yele.org), a non-political organization intended to empower the people of Haiti by combining the power of music to assist in development in the areas of education, health, environment and community development.

About the NBA

The NBA, founded in 1946, is a global sports and entertainment brand that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada. During the 2005-06 season, the NBA will distribute 44,000 hours of programming to 215 countries and territories in 43 languages. The league?s worldwide reach can also be seen with 82 international players on NBA rosters. Domestically, the NBA will broadcast 142 games on national television this season on ABC, TNT, ESPN and ESPN2, and eclipsed attendance records for the third consecutive season.

NBA TV, launched in 1999 as the first 24-hour television channel created and operated by a professional sports league, is distributed to 41 countries. NBA merchandise is sold in more than 100,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents, NBA.com gets more than half of its visitors from outside the United States and the league has a record 19 global and country-specific marketing partners.

As fans witness tremendous performances on the court, some of the NBA?s most significant efforts occur off the court. This past year, the league launched its most ambitious community outreach endeavor, NBA Cares. Over a five-year span, players and teams will raise and contribute $100 million for charity, donate more than one million hours of volunteer service to communities worldwide, and build more than 100 educational and athletic facilities where children can learn and play. For more information on the NBA, visit NBA.com.

[ania]

This is a good news. I am really happy for the haitian

because I remmember during the playoff my housse used to full of people to watch the playoff because they do not have cable to watch it. Bravo wyclef and parteners