'Desperate Housewives' Goes To Lifetime Television

Lifetime Television Acquires Exclusive Basic Cable Rights From Buena Vista Television For Emmy Award-Winning ABC Series 'Desperate Housewives' Beginning In 2008

- Lifetime Also Acquires First Season Repurposing Rights Beginning in August '06 -

NEW YORK, April 7 -- The Women of Wisteria Lane have just found a second home! Lifetime Television announced today that it has acquired the exclusive basic cable rights from Buena Vista Television, along with the repurposing rights, for the smash-hit, Emmy Award-winning series "Desperate Housewives." Along with the repurposing rights starting September 2008, Lifetime will begin airing the first season of "Desperate Housewives" on a weekly basis this August.

Now in its second season, "Desperate Housewives," which stars Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria and Nicollette Sheridan in a comedic look at suburbia -- where the secret lives of housewives aren't always what they seem -- averages 22.5 million total viewers and 8.3 million W18-49 during its 9PM (ET/PT) run on ABC and is the number one scripted series among W18-49 in the current 2005-06 broadcast season.

In making the announcement, Leslie Glenn-Chesloff, Senior Vice President, Planning, Scheduling & Acquisitions, Lifetime Entertainment Services, said, "This brilliant water-cooler series makes us laugh and makes us cry with its insightful windows into the lives, emotions, dreams and disappointments of diverse women. As a pop-culture icon with powerful appeal to women viewers, 'Desperate Housewives' is a perfect addition to our schedule."

"We view Lifetime, the leader in women's television, as the ideal partner for 'Desperate Housewives,'" added Jed Cohen, Executive Vice President, General Sales Manager at Buena Vista Television. "'Desperate Housewives' has had a tremendous impact on the primetime landscape and we believe that Lifetime Television is the perfect environment to extend the success of this distinguished and popular series."

Marc Cherry ("The Golden Girls") is executive producer and creator. Tom Spezialy ("The District," "Ed") is executive producer of "Desperate Housewives," which is from Touchstone Television.

Buena Vista Television (BVT) is the domestic television distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. BVT is a leader in the pay TV, video-on-demand and pay-per-view arenas, and a pioneer in new media, capitalizing on licensing opportunities within broadband, wireless and digital technologies. The syndication veteran also boasts a powerful cache of highly-anticipated off- network hits, first-run programming and top movie packages. Buena Vista Television is a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney Enterprises, Inc.

LIFETIME is the leader in women's television and one of the top-rated basic cable television networks. A diverse, multi-media company, LIFETIME is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. LIFETIME Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women, Lifetime Home Entertainment and Lifetime Online are part of LIFETIME Entertainment Services, a 50/50 joint venture of The Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.

SOURCE Lifetime Television
Web Site: http://www.lifetimetv.com