Tipping Off: Panini America Announces New Roster of NBA-Licensed 2011-12 Trading Card Products

IRVING, Texas, Dec. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Panini America (www.paniniamerica.net), the world's largest sports and entertainment collectibles company and the exclusive trading card partner of the NBA, will celebrate the NBA's return with a completely overhauled roster of products for the 2011-12 season engineered to appeal equally to casual fans and hardcore collectors alike.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111220/DA25766)

Panini America will tip off the new NBA collecting season with a late-February hobby release of 2012 Preferred Basketball, a new high-end addition that will deliver three autographs and one six- or eight-swatch memorabilia booklet card in every pack and will retail for $200.

Preferred will be followed by the triumphant return of the venerable Hoops brand (March), a collecting landmark that ignited the basketball collecting craze with a history-making debut in 1989-90. With a $1 retail pack price, Hoops will appeal to a broad fan base and will also include autographed buybacks of original 1989-90 Hoops cards. Panini also will release a hobby-specific version of Hoops ($2 a pack and $72 a box) that will feature 29 inserts, autographed copies of original 1989-90 Hoops cards and two autographs per box.

"We are excited by the return of the NBA and look forward to delivering NBA trading cards to basketball fans around the world with the release of our 2011-12 NBA products," said Panini America CEO Mark Warsop. "There was so much excitement for the NBA and its players last season and we are looking forward to picking up where we left off. The time away has only strengthened the demand for Panini NBA trading card products and we're confident that our new product roster will be well received."  

After Hoops, Panini America will release 2011-12 Limited (May), 2011-12 Past & Present (June) and 2011-12 Gold Standard (July). The Limited and Gold Standard releases will include unique cards redeemable for the first Rookie Cards of members of the 2011-12 and 2012-13 NBA rookie classes.

Panini America is the only company in the world that manufactures fully licensed trading cards and stickers for the NBA, NFL, NFL PLAYERS, NHL, NHLPA, MLBPA and FIFA World Cup. The company also owns exclusive entertainment licenses with Disney, Justin Bieber and Michael Jackson, and more than 600 global licenses with other sports and entertainment properties.

ABOUT PANINI:
The Panini Group, established almost 50 years ago in Modena, Italy, has subsidiaries throughout Europe, Latin America and the United States.  Panini is the world leader in officially licensed collectibles and is the most significant publisher of collectibles in the U.S., with official licenses for NBA, NFL, NHL, FIFA, Disney, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros. and other key properties from many other licensors. Panini has distribution channels in more than 100 countries and employs a staff of over 800. For more information visit us at www.paniniamerica.net, www.paninigroup.com or www.paniniamerica.wordpress.com. You can also follow Panini America on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and on YouTube.

Media Contact:

Tracy Hackler, Panini America
817-662-5325
[email protected]

SOURCE Panini America

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