Spike TV and NBA Entertainment Team Up to Present 'NBA Rookies'

New Documentary Series Chronicling the Highs and Lows of NBA Rookies Premieres Friday, June 10

Emeka Okafor, Andre Iguodala, Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson Among Those Featured

NEW YORK, May 17 -- Spike TV and NBA Entertainment (NBAE) have teamed up to produce a new, original series delving into the behind-the-scenes world of various NBA first-year neophytes in "NBA Rookies. "The six-episode series, premiering Friday, June 10 (9:00pm-10:00pm ET/PT) features got milk? Rookie of the Year Emeka Okafor (Charlotte Bobcats), and got milk? NBA All-Rookie Team members Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic), Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia76ers), and Jameer Nelson (Orlando Magic). Other NBA rookies prominently featured include J.R. Smith (New Orleans Hornets), and Devin Harris (Dallas Mavericks).

After a sneak-peek premiere during the opening week of the Finals on Friday, June 10, "NBA Rookies" will assume its regular timeslot on Monday nights at 11:00pm ET/PT beginning Monday, June 13.

"We're thrilled to team up with the NBA for a distinct series that we feel will resonate with our hoops-loving, guy audience," remarked Kevin Kay, Executive Vice President, Programming and Production, Spike TV.

"NBA Rookies" will chronicle the roller-coaster journey that each of the featured subjects endures -- from the nervous anticipation of the NBA Draft to the arduous practices in training camp, to the early season struggles to the highly anticipated NBA All-Star events, to the late-season playoff push and beyond.

"This season featured an extraordinary class of rookies who have had a positive impact on their respective teams," said Charles Rosenzweig, Vice President, Entertainment & Player Marketing, NBAE. "We are pleased to be partnering with Spike TV to bring to life for our fans, all the unique experiences NBA rookies encounter."

NBAE's omnipresent cameras will show candid moments including Jameer Nelson finding out he's been traded to Orlando from a group of fans at Madison Square Garden; a sneak peek into Philadelphia 76ers's draft-day war room led by General Manager Billy King; and Emeka Okafor struggling in a pre-Olympic practice with the NBA elite.

The series also features rarely seen footage of NBA legends in various innocent rookie-welcoming hi-jinks including Shaquille O'Neal break-dancing upon arrival in Orlando and a then-rookie Scottie Pippen horsing around with veteran Charles Oakley in Chicago.

Scott Fishman serves as Executive in Charge of Production for Spike TV. Larry Weitzman of NBAE serves as Supervising Producer, and Dion Cocoros serves as Producer. This marks the second initiative between Spike TV and NBAE. In 2004, they teamed up to produce "Spike TV's 52 Greatest Moments in NBA History."

Spike TV, the first network for men, is available in 87 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), owns and operates the following television programming services -- MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, mtvU, VHI, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, MTV INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 12 digital services, all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

Launched in 1982, NBA Entertainment is one of the largest suppliers of sports television and Internet programming in the world and manages the NBA's, WNBA's, and NBDL's television, film, Internet, publishing, photos, consumer products, marketing partnerships, media properties and event relationships domestically and internationally. NBAE's Emmy Award-winning production and programming division produces several weekly television shows, including NBA Inside Stuff, NBA Matchup, NBA Action, WNBA Action and NBA Jam. It creates exclusive content for NBA TV, NBA.com and WNBA.com and packages NBA and WNBA games along with highlight and lifestyle shows for distribution to 214 countries around the world.

SOURCE Spike TV
Web Site: http://www.spiketv.com