VH1 Acquires Full Library of America's Most Romantic Reality Show 'The Bachelor'

VH1 Will Run the First Seven Seasons as Marathons Beginning With the First Cycle Sunday 6/1 and Ending With the Seventh on Saturday 6/7

SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 15 -- "The Bachelor" has "accepted a rose" from VH1, which is acquiring the full library of the groundbreaking reality series in a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. The agreement includes 12 cycles of "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" franchises as well all cycles through at least 2008.

VH1 will air the first seven seasons during the first week of June. Airing one season per day in a marathon format, VH1 will premiere the first edition of "The Bachelor" on Sunday, June 1 and conclude the week-long programming event with the seventh on Saturday, June 7.

The music and pop culture network shattered its ratings records over the years with its own take on dating reality shows including "Flavor of Love" and "Rock of Love with Bret Michaels."

"'The Bachelor' is the granddaddy of the dating reality format. It's been a water cooler staple from the moment it premiered in 2002, and it's still on top of its game", said Ben Zurier, Executive Vice President, Programming Strategy, VH1, VH1 Classic, and MHD. "As we've seen with our own record-breaking 'Rock of Love with Bret Michaels' and 'Flavor of Love' series, dating reality has become the drama for the current generation of young adults, with an engaging mix of intrigue, romance, and surprises. 'The Bachelor' and VH1 certainly feels like a good match."

"The Bachelor" debuted in March 2002 and featured the first-ever TV Bachelor, Alex Michel, an attractive, accomplished businessman on a quest to find true love. In its first seven installments, "The Bachelor" was filled with compelling drama and several marriage proposals. The series even provided America with the popular catchphrase, "Will you accept this rose?" In the fifth edition, one of the most memorable "one-on-one dates" featured National Football League quarterback Jesse Palmer and bachelorette Jessica Bowlin picnicking on the 50-yard line at the famed Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, while being serenaded by the University of Southern California Trojan Marching Band.

The Bachelor embarks on his romantic journey by meeting 25 women. He then narrows the field to the 15 he sees as potential mates. As the Bachelor gets to know the women via a series of social gatherings and romantic dates, he continues to eliminate women each week. Some of the women will go on group dates; some will meet the Bachelor alone. Some will be introduced to his family, and some will host the Bachelor in their hometown in an effort to show him what their life is like and help determine with whom he is most compatible. Ultimately, the Bachelor must choose the one woman who has captured his heart. At any point along the way, however, should a woman decide she is no longer interested, she may reject the Bachelor's invitation to continue dating.

In its first seven cycles, "The Bachelor" consistently ranked among ABC's top 10 programs among Women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 and consistently outperformed its time period competition among Women 18-34. Its most recent edition -- the 12th -- averaged more than seven million viewers per week.

The first seven cycles of "The Bachelor" were produced by Next Entertainment in association with Telepictures Productions. Mike Fleiss is the executive producer. (The series is now produced by Next Entertainment in association with Warner Horizon Television.)

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 90 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital channels and services including VH1Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Mobile, VH1Games and extensive broadband video on VH1.com. Connect with VH1 at VH1.com.

*all times ET/PT