"ER" On ION Television: A Prescription for Success
Smash Hit Series to Join Contemporary Primetime Lineup in June
(West Palm Beach, Fla. � May 1, 2008) � ION Media Networks, Inc. today announced a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution to air seasons 11-14 of the long-running hit series "ER" on ION Television. The medical drama, which has earned more Primetime Emmy Award nominations than any other program in history, will debut in primetime on the network beginning this June.
"This deal with Warner Bros. highlights ION Television's evolution both in terms of programming and target audience�a major consideration for advertisers," said Brandon Burgess, Chairman and CEO, ION Media Networks. "'ER' is one of America's most acclaimed series. The addition of this show underscores our network's commitment to contemporary, quality programming that will appeal to a wide audience."
Currently in its 14th season, "ER" continues to earn some of the highest ratings among TV dramas. In addition to winning 22 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series in 1996, and 120 Emmy Award nominations, the show has also earned the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and four Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Drama Series.
Combining the extraordinary talents of multiple award-winning producer John Wells, best-selling author Michael Crichton and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television, the venerated series explores the inner workings of an urban teaching hospital and the critical issues faced by the dedicated physicians and staff of its overburdened emergency room. The impressive current cast includes Goran Visnjic ("Elektra," "Spartacus"), Maura Tierney ("Baby Mama," "Semi-Pro"), Mekhi Phifer ("8 Mile," "Dawn of the Dead "), Parminder Nagra ("Bend It Like Beckham"), Linda Cardellini ("Freaks and Geeks," "Brokeback Mountain"), Scott Grimes ("American Dad," "Mystery, Alaska") and John Stamos ("A Raisin in the Sun," "Jake in Progress," "Full House"). Created by Michael Crichton ("Jurassic Park"), "ER" is executive produced by Christopher Chulack, Crichton, Wells, David Zabel, Janine Sherman Barrois and Joe Sachs.
About ION Media Networks
ION Media Networks, Inc. owns and operates the nation's largest broadcast television station group and ION Television, which reaches over 94 million U.S. television households via its nationwide broadcast television, cable and satellite distribution systems, and features popular TV series and movies from the award-winning libraries of RHI Entertainment, CBS Television, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television, Twentieth Television and Warner Bros., among others. Using its digital multicasting capability, the Company has launched several digital TV brands, including qubo, a channel for children focusing on literacy and values, and ION Life, a channel dedicated to active living and personal growth. It also has launched Open Mobile Ventures Corporation (OMVION), a business unit focused on the research and development of portable, mobile and out-of-home transmission technology using over-the-air digital television spectrum. For more information, visit www.ionmedia.tv.
About Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (WBDTD) is one of the leading distributors of first-run and off-network programming in the domestic television marketplace. It handles the syndication of television series produced by Warner Bros. Television, Telepictures Productions, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Horizon Television; selected HBO Independent Productions and the Lorimar Television library; current feature films from Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Independent Pictures; and the Studio's unmatched motion picture library. WBDTD will launch "The Bonnie Hunt Show" in fall 2008 and is currently distributing first-run series including "TMZ," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "The Tyra Banks Show," "Extra," "Judge Mathis" and "The People's Court." Off-network, WBDTD is distributing "Two and a Half Men" (the #1 comedy in off-net syndication), "George Lopez," "Cold Case," "Without a Trace," "Smallville" and "Friends," among others.
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