A&E TO LAUNCH NEW WEEKLY MUSIC PERFORMANCE AND INTERVIEW SERIES 'PRIVATE SESSIONS' ON SUNDAY, JULY 22 AT 9:00AM ET/PT

SERIES PREMIERE TO FEATURE POP SENSATION AVRIL LAVIGNE

New York, NY July 16, 2007- On Sunday, July 22 at 9:00AM ET/PT, A&E Network will premiere PRIVATE SESSIONS, a weekly one-hour performance and interview series hosted by Lynn Hoffman. Filmed in a small, intimate studio in New York City, the series will showcase exclusive performances and conversations with top names in entertainment with a focus on contemporary music ranging from rock 'n' roll to pop to country. Each Sunday morning PRIVATE SESSIONS will explore the body of work of a single artist or group and feature current releases as well as career-building, influential or defining projects.

The premiere episode of PRIVATE SESSIONS features pop princess Avril Lavigne, whose third album"The Best Damn Thing" debuted at number one on Billboard's Top 200 album chart. Avril chats with Lynn Hoffman and performs "Girlfriend," her new hit single which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, her first-ever hit "Complicated," and several other songs from her new album.

Artists slated to appear on upcoming episodes of PRIVATE SESSIONS include The Goo Goo Dolls on July 29, country music star Toby Keith on August 5, blues-rock band Blues Traveler on August 12 and rocker Meat Loaf on August 19. Nine additional episodes are planned for production in 2007.

PRIVATE SESSIONS host Lynn Hoffman, a Boston native, started her career in radio for Boston's WBMX morning show and went on to serve as the entertainment reporter for the city's CBS television affiliate. Soon after moving to New York in 2002, Hoffman began hosting for MTV Network's VH1 Classic channel where she served as the main host for the channel, its on-demand platform and The All-Request Hour. She has co-hosted shows with such legendary artists as The Doors, Donna Summer, Bonnie Raitt, Pat Benatar and many others. Hoffman had her own morning show on New York's legendary radio station WNEW and has hosted shows for other networks including E!, VH1 and TLC.

PRIVATE SESSIONS is produced by A&E Television Networks productions. Tom Moody serves as executive producer and Nicholas van Hoogstraten as senior producer. Liisa Lunden and Scott Kerbey are series producers.

About A&E Network

Now reaching more than 93 million homes, A&E Network offers a diverse mix of high quality entertainment; ranging from the network's signature Real-Life Series franchise, including the hit series "Dog the Bounty Hunter," "Intervention," "Gene Simmons Family Jewels," "Flip This House" and "Criss Angel Mindfreak," to critically acclaimed original movies, dramatic series and the most successful justice shows on cable. A&E is the official basic cable home to the high-profile series "The Sopranos," "CSI: Miami" and "24." The A&E Network website is located at www.aetv.com. The A&E Insider is located at www.aetv.com/insider. For more information and photography please visit us on the web at www.aetvpress.com.