ABC FAMILY ENCOURAGES ITS VIEWERS TO JOIN THE RUSH WITH THE LAUNCH OF VIRTUALRUSH.COM

New Community Site Created in Support of the Upcoming ABC Family Original Series "Greek"

Next month, ABC Family will launch virtualrush.com, a unique social networking site designed to support the new ABC Family original series "Greek." The virtualrush.com site will debut on May 14th and "Greek" will premiere on ABC Family in July.

"ABC Family has had another strong year of on-air ratings growth and increased online traffic with our key adult millennial audience," said Paul Lee, president, ABC Family. "Virtualrush.com is a perfect example of how we are extending the experience of our content via digital platforms as well as providing advertisers new and interesting ways to reach our core demo."

A niche social network centered around collegiate life, virtualrush.com will allow users to join the fictional Cyprus-Rhodes University Greek system by creating a personal profile and uploading content. Users will be able to take a personality quiz to see which character of the show they most resemble and then can "rush" the virtual sorority/fraternity house of that character. Users will have the chance to join one of six different houses such as "Slacker" Cappie's house or "It Girl" Casey's house. They can also interact with other users, participate in a virtual community alongside the characters featured in "Greek" and be ranked by the community to be eligible to win various prizes.

"We need to meet our audience where they are today," said KC Estenson, vice president, digital media, Disney-ABC Cable Networks Group. "Virtualrush.com allows us to do just this by combining the best elements of storytelling, competition and community to deepen our audience's relationship with our programming and with each other. "

Users who create online profiles for virtualrush.com must be 18 years or older, but younger fans can also visit the site, vote for their favorite photos & videos, and post comments.

ABC Family will begin its early-awareness marketing for the virtualrush.com launch and the "Greek" premiere with on-campus tactics at over 150 colleges and universities across the country.

"Greek," a new original series by creator Sean Smith, is a dramedy set at fictitious Cyprus-Rhodes University, which focuses on the social minefield that is the Greek system. Viewers will see this unique cast of characters navigate their way through this treacherous terrain as they try to find their place at Cyprus-Rhodes University.

Shawn Piller ("Wildfire," "The Dead Zone"), Lloyd Segan ("Wildfire," "The Dead Zone") and Anne Kenney ("Beautiful People," "The Division") will serve as executive producers. The pilot was directed by Gil Junger ("10 Things I Hate About You," "Kyle XY") and written by creator-producer Sean Smith ("Summerland," "Wildfire"). The ensemble cast includes Jacob Zachar as Rusty, Spencer Grammer as Casey, Scott Michael Foster as Cappie, Jake McDorman as Evan, Clark Duke as Dale, Dilshad Vadsaria as Rebecca, Paul James as Calvin and Amber Stevens as Ashleigh.

Part of the Disney-ABC-TV Group, ABC Family, distributed in over 91 million homes, features original movies, series and specials reflecting today's families and entertaining and connecting with adults through relevant stories about today's relationships, all told with diversity, dysfunction, passion, humor and heart. ABC Family's programming is a mix of quality acquired series and theatricals as well as original movies and scripted dramas. ABC Family is also the destination for Holiday events with "13 Nights of Halloween" and "25 Days of Christmas" branded programming events. ABC Family. A New Kind of Family.