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[08/17/09 - 12:58 PM]
ABC Family Fetches Starz Media's "The Dog Who Saved Christmas" for Network's 'Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas' Programming Event
Mario Lopez, Dean Cain, Elisa Donovan and Gary Valentine co-star in the project, bowing Sunday, November 29 at 8:00/7:00c.

[via press release from ABC Family]

ABC FAMILY FETCHES STARZ MEDIA'S "THE DOG WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS" FOR NETWORK'S 'COUNTDOWN TO 25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS' PROGRAMMING EVENT

Mario Lopez Joins Dean Cain, Elisa Donovan and Gary Valentine In the Original Movie About a Problem Pooch Who Saves the Holiday

Burbank, CA (August 17, 2009) � ABC Family and Starz Media will be barking in the holidays together this season, with the network buying the U.S. cable TV rights to the new holiday movie, "The Dog Who Saved Christmas," as part of its November "Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas" programming event. A Starz Media presentation, the two-hour original movie makes its worldwide premiere on ABC Family on Sunday, November 29 at 8:00 PM ET/PT. Jeffrey Schenck, Zelma Kiwi and Barry Barnholtz are executive producers on the film, which was written by Michael Ciminera and Richard Gnolfo, from a story by Schenck, Ciminera and Gnolfo. Michael Feifer directed the movie.

"Dog" stars Dean Cain ("Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," "Out of Time"), Gary Valentine ("The King of Queens"), with Mario Lopez ("Saved By the Bell," "Pacific Blue") featured as the voice of Zeus, the misguided guard dog who saves the Bannister family's Christmas when he thwarts a burglary attempt by two inept thieves. Elisa Donovan ("Clueless," "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch"), Sierra McCormick ("Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?"), Charlie Stewart ("The Suite Life of Zach & Cody," "Life with Bonnie"), Mindy Sterling (the "Austin Powers" trilogy) and Adrienne Barbeau ("Maude," "Carnivale") also star.

"Jeffrey and Barry put together a terrific cast and a very appealing story with 'The Dog Who Saved Christmas'," said Gene George, Starz Media EVP, Worldwide Distribution, who is overseeing all distribution for the title. "It attracted the interest of TV programmers around the world, and we were thrilled to ultimately bring it to ABC Family as part of its lineup this holiday season."

"We're very excited to be partnering with Starz Media on the 'The Dog Who Saved Christmas'," said Tom Zappala, Senior Vice President, Disney ABC Television Group. "It will be a perfect addition to our highly successful 'Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas' event."

Anchor Bay Entertainment, Starz Media's market-leading home entertainment division, will release the movie on DVD just nine days later, on December 8, 2009.

"We expect 'The Dog Who Saved Christmas' to be one of the hit titles of this holiday season, and for years to come," adds Anchor Bay Entertainment EVP, Worldwide Marketing, Gordon Prend.

About Starz Media

Starz Media, LLC, is a programming production and distribution company operating worldwide. It includes the Film Roman, Anchor Bay Entertainment and Manga Entertainment brands. Its units create animated and live-action programming -- including theatrical films -- and programming created under contract for other media companies. It distributes that programming, and programming acquired from outside producers, through home video retailers, theaters, broadcasters, ad supported and premium television channels, and Internet and wireless video distributors in the US and internationally. Starz Media (www.starzmedia.com) is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Capital Group.

About Anchor Bay Entertainment

Anchor Bay Entertainment is the home entertainment division of Starz Media, LLC. It includes the Anchor Bay Films and Manga Entertainment brands. It distributes feature films, children's entertainment, fitness, TV series, documentaries, anime and other filmed entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray� formats. It is the exclusive distributor in the U.S. of the theatrical titles from Overture Films. Headquartered in Burbank, CA, Anchor Bay Entertainment has offices in Troy, MI, as well as Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Starz Media (www.starzmedia.com) is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Capital Group.

About ABC Family

Part of the Disney-ABC Television Group, ABC Family is distributed in over 97 million homes. ABC Family features programming reflecting today's families, 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 network defining original series and original movies, quality acquired series and blockbuster theatricals. ABC Family is also the destination for annual Holiday events with "13 Nights of Halloween" and "25 Days of Christmas!" ABC Family. A New Kind of Family.





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· ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER? (NICKELODEON)
· CARNIVALE (HBO)
· DOG WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS, THE (ABC FAMILY)
· KING OF QUEENS, THE (CBS)
· LIFE WITH BONNIE (ABC)
· PACIFIC BLUE (USA)
· SABRINA, THE TEENAGE WITCH (WB)





[09/15/26 - 05:01 PM]
Video: Trailer & Key Art - Hulu Original Series "The Remarried Empress"
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[09/15/26 - 04:06 PM]
US Open Men's Championship Averages 3.2M Viewers, ESPN's Largest Audience Ever
Viewership peaked at 4.0M from 5:30-5:45 p.m. ET.

[09/15/26 - 04:01 PM]
Video: "One Year to Live, Buy a Man" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Given a year to live, frugal 40-year-old Yui finally lets herself spend: "buying" nightclub host Sena. What begins as a contract takes an unexpected turn.

[09/15/26 - 03:21 PM]
Michigan's Win Over Oklahoma Scores 8,221,000 Viewers on FOX
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[09/15/26 - 03:05 PM]
Ohio State/Texas Delivers ABC/ESPN's Top Regular Season Game in 10 Years; "College GameDay" Scores Most-Watched Week 2 Episode Ever
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[09/15/26 - 02:58 PM]
FOX's "America's Game of the Week" Comes Out on Top in a Rare Week 1 Head-to-Head Matchup in the National 4:25 PM ET Window
20,346,000 viewers tuned-in to the Philadelphia Eagles win over the Washington Commanders in a window with head-to-head national competition.

[09/15/26 - 01:52 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers 25+ Million Viewers for Both NFL Kickoff Game and "Sunday Night Football" Opener for First Time Since 2015
Sunday's Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants matchup averaged 25.7 million on NBC and Peacock, marking the most watched NBC "Sunday Night Football" season opener since 2015 (Giants at Cowboys), based on Nielsen Big Data inclusive of first party data.

[09/15/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of September 7 - "The Gentlemen" Brings Sophistication to the No. 1 Spot in This Week's Top 10
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[09/15/26 - 11:01 AM]
First Look at Melissa McCarthy and Clive Owen in "The Murder of JonBenet Ramsey"
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[09/15/26 - 11:01 AM]
Prime Video Reveals the Ten Contestants of the New Season of "LOL: Last One Laughing Spain," Which Returns for Christmas
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[09/15/26 - 10:31 AM]
Prime Video Kicks Off Fifth Season of Exclusive "Thursday Night Football" with a Star-Studded Schedule, Interactive Broadcast Enhancements and Record-Setting Momentum
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[09/15/26 - 10:23 AM]
Video: "NCIS: New York" Full Series Premiere Trailer - CBS
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[09/15/26 - 10:01 AM]
Emmy Award-Winning Journalist Mariana Van Zeller Goes Undercover to Expose the $1 Billion Romance Scam Industry in National Geographic's "Super Scam Me"
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[09/15/26 - 10:01 AM]
Netflix's "Pride and Prejudice" - Official First Look & Date Announcement
The new adaptation of the classic novel premieres December 3, only on Netflix.

[09/15/26 - 10:01 AM]
Five-Service Streaming Bundle Launches on Prime Video in the U.S.
AMC+, BritBox, MGM+, PBS Masterpiece, and Starz are now available together for $29.99/month, offering a savings of nearly 39% compared to subscribing to each service individually.