NFL DVD to include Madden preview
Warner cross-promotes Electronic Arts football videogame
By Danny King -- Video Business, 4/16/2008
APRIL 16 | Warner Home Video will include a demo of Electronic Arts’ Madden NFL 09 on a DVD of National Football League highlights to be released July 22, marking the first time the Time Warner unit will cross-promote a videogame on its DVD.
NFL: In Just One Play, the 90-minute DVD hosted by Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson, will give viewers a preview of the 20th edition of the Madden football videogame franchise in Microsoft’s Xbox 360 format, Warner said in a statement today. EA said last month that Madden NFL 09 will be available to the public Aug. 12.
The DVD marks the first of several Warner cross-promotions with EA, which is the world’s largest video publisher and has sold more than 70 million units of Madden titles. In the process, Warner is aligning itself with a booming computer-game industry, in which U.S. consumers bought $9.5 billion worth of videogames last year, up 28% from 2006, according to NPD Group.
In addition to Johnson, the DVD will show highlights of LaDanian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson, Randy Moss and Reggie Wayne, among others.
