'HGTV DESIGN STAR' CHAMP ANTONIO BALLATORE SHOWCASES HIS EDGY STYLE IN 'THE ANTONIO TREATMENT'

New Series Premieres on Sunday, March 14 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT

Knoxville, Tenn. [For Immediate Release--February 9, 2010] Antonio Ballatore, season four champion of HGTV Design Star, unabashedly returns to the network with his madcap design style in his own show, The Antonio Treatment. During the series, premiering on Sunday, March 14, at 10 p.m. ET/PT, Antonio and his crew of unconventional craftsmen transform lackluster homes, offices, restaurants, stores, recording studios and more into radically original--yet functional--custom creations.

"Antonio's unexpected and gritty style made him a controversial HGTV Design Star winner," said Freddy James, senior vice president, program development and production, HGTV. "In his new show, he will continue to surprise audiences with his unique ideas, dynamic personality and fresh point of view."

Each episode of The Antonio Treatment begins as Antonio meets with clients to determine their design needs. Next, he departs to tour a similarly designed space for inspiration, leaving his team to prepare the client's space for a complete overhaul. Throughout the series, he reaches out to his network of friends and experts - from glass blowers and metal workers to graffiti and tattoo artists - to help bring his contemporary design visions to life. He also shows viewers a multitude of creative uses for unconventional design materials and methods that they can try in their own homes.

In the premiere episode, Antonio transforms the home gym of TV personality Mario Lopez, host of the entertainment news show, Extra, and first runner-up in the third season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars. An avid sports fan, Mario loves to exercise and especially enjoys boxing. He challenges Antonio to turn his sparsely decorated home gym into a fitness sanctuary. Through their meeting, Antonio learns that while Mario has a masculine style, he wants a space with the charm of old world Mexico.

In future episodes, Antonio works with a fun and dynamic punk rock family to incorporate furniture they inherited from their grandmother into their space. He also helps a professional cartoonist and his wife create a new home office that is reflective of their bohemian design style.

About HGTV

HGTV, America's leader in home and lifestyle programming, is distributed to more than 98 million U.S. households and is one of cable's top-rated networks. HGTV's website, HGTV.com, is the nation's leading online home-and-garden destination, which attracts an average of 4 million unique visitors per month.