�BEAUTY AND THE GEEK� IS A HIT!

Burbank, CA January 13, 2006

�BEAUTY AND THE GEEK� COMES BACK STRONGER THAN EVER BUILDING OVER ITS SUCCESSFUL SUMMER DEBUT BY +63% IN PERSONS 12-34

THE DYNAMIC DUO OF �SMALLVILLE� AND �GEEK� SCORES THE BEST THURSDAY IN THE HISTORY OF THE WB IN ALL MALE DEMOS

The ratings performance of the premiere of the second installment of BEAUTY AND THE GEEK certifies it as a hit for The WB and gets the second half of the network's season off to a flying start. Combined with its lead-in SMALLVILLE, BEAUTY AND THE GEEK gave The WB its BEST THURSDAY EVER IN ALL MALE DEMOS � men 18-34 (2.6/8), men 12-34 (2.8/9) and men 18-49 (2.2/6) as well as its best numbers since October 2001 in adults 18-34 (2.8/8), persons 12-34 (2.9/9) and adults 18-49 (2.3/6).

BEAUTY AND THE GEEK achieved great gains over its successful summer series debut in June by +63% in persons 12-34, +46% in women 12-34, +93% in men 12-34, +32% in adults 18-34, +22% in women 18-34, +47% in men 18-34 and +35% in adults 18-49. Compared to last season's average of original episodes the premiere episode was up by +38% in adults 18-34 and +28% in adults 18-49.

The hit social experiment achieved the network's best ratings in the time period since October 2001 among persons 12-34 (3.1/9) and scored the highest total viewers (5 million) and adult 18-34 (2.9/8) ratings in the time period since January 2003, while notching the highest rating in women 12-34 (3.5/9) since May 2002. BEAUTY AND THE GEEK achieved The WB's best numbers of the season in the time period across all key demos and total viewers, and built on its SMALLVILLE lead in among six key demos including adults 18-34 (2.9/8), persons 12-34 (3.1/9) and teens (3.6/11).

BEAUTY AND THE GEEK was a strong #2 in its time period men 12-34 (2.7/8) and was #3 in the hour among persons 12-34 (3.1/9) and men 18-34 (2.5/8).

SMALLVILLE, the season's smashing success, ranked #1 in its time period in men 12-34 (2.9/10) and finished #2 in persons 12-34 (2.7/8) and men 18-34 (2.7/9). The episode more than doubled the time period's performance the parallel week last year including growth of +125% in persons 12-34 (2.7/8) and +117% in adults 18-34 (2.6/8). SMALLVILLE also had strong year-to-year gains in women 12-34 (2.5/7, up +56%), women 18-34 (2.5/7, up +56%) and women 18-49 (2.3/6, up +53%), while averaging 5.5 million total viewers (up +82%). SMALLVILLE posted its third highest number of the season in women 18-34 (2.5/7) and equaled its second highest among women 18-49 (2.3/6).

The new Thursday combo propelled The WB to a #2 rank on the night among persons 12-34 (2.9/9), men 12-34 (2.8/9) and men 18-34 (2.6/8), and finished tied for #3 from 8-10 p.m. among adults 18-34 (2.8/8). The WB achieved its best Thursday of the season in all key demos.