TV One and Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution Ink Comprehensive, Multi- Year Programming Agreement for Movies, Series Including Off-Network Premiere Of All of Us and Eve, as Well as Rights to Martin and Living Single
-- Acquisition of UPN Sitcoms All of Us and Eve Marks the First Time TV One
Has Obtained Off-Network Rights to Sitcoms Currently Airing on a Broadcast
Network --
ATLANTA, April 10 -- In a comprehensive, multi-year
programming agreement, TV One has acquired rights from Warner Bros.
Domestic Cable Distribution to air popular movies and series, including All
of Us, Eve, Martin and Living Single. The acquisition of current UPN
sitcoms All of Us and Eve marks the first time the new network for African
American adults has acquired the off-network rights to sitcoms currently
airing on a broadcast network. As part of the deal, TV One will also
acquire the rights to air recent episodes of Showtime at the Apollo,
including new episodes two weeks after their syndication debut. The
announcement was made during the National Cable Television Association
convention in Atlanta.
A broad range of movie titles are part of the WBDCD programming
package, which includes windows on classic dramas such as The Color Purple,
Malcolm X, Lean on Me, Round Midnight and Rosewood; action movies such as
Boiling Point and New Jack City; comedies such as Uptown Saturday Night and
Strictly Business; musicals such as Purple Rain, Cabin in the Sky, Krush
Groove and Sparkle; and classic blaxploitation films such as Shaft and
Superfly, among others.
Additional series to which TV One is acquiring rights under the deal
include Roc, For Your Love, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, The Parent 'Hood,
Wanda at Large, All About the Andersons, Fastlane and A Man Called Hawk.
Under the deal, TV One's rights to air All of Us, which ranks among
Nielsen's Top 10 primetime series in African American households this
season to date, and Eve begin in fall 2006, and the rights to air Living
Single begin in fall 2008. TV One is renewing the rights to air Martin and
Roc, which currently air on TV One.
"Martin and Roc have already proved very popular with TV One viewers,
and we expect the rest of this Warner Bros. package to help ensure we
continue to have a strong lineup of acquired scripted programming to
complement our original programming as we work toward making TV One the
premier viewing destination for African American adults," said TV One
Executive Vice President of Programming and Production Rose Catherine
Pinkney.
"We are thrilled to be expanding our already successful programming
relationship with TV One," said Eric Frankel, President, Warner Bros.
Domestic Cable Distribution. "We're confident that the addition of feature
films, the premieres of off-network comedies, the licensing of proven hits
and the renewal of successful staples of their already strong line-up will
provide a nice boost to their schedule."
Launched in January 2004, TV One (http://www.tvoneonline.com) serves
more than 28.4 million households (Nielsen April 2006 estimate), offering a
broad range of lifestyle and entertainment-oriented original programming,
classic series, movies, fashion and music designed to entertain, inform and
inspire a diverse audience of adult African American viewers. TV One's
investors include Radio One (Nasdaq: ROIA and ROIAK;
http://www.radio-one.com ), the largest radio company that primarily
targets African American and urban listeners; Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq:
CMCSA and CMCSK; http://www.comcast.com ), the leading cable television
company in the country; The DirecTV Group; Constellation Ventures;
Syndicated Communications; Pacesetter Capital Group; and Opportunity
Capital Partners.
SOURCE TV One
Web Site: http://www.tvoneonline.com http://www.comcast.com
http://www.radio-one.com
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