ION Television Launches Newly Acquired Series "Psych" and "Monk" Beginning Sunday, August 21 at 6PM ET/PT

NEW YORK - AUGUST 3, 2011 - ION Television is set to premiere its newly acquired drama series "Psych" and "Monk" beginning Sunday, August 21 at 6pm ET. Both series will air on ION's successful primetime Saturday and Sunday schedules, with a four-hour block of "Monk" premiering 6-10pm and a five-hour block of "Psych" airing from 10pm - 3am. The critically-acclaimed series will launch on ION's weekend schedule starting with season one.

As part of the acquisition package from NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution, ION Television attained the right to air six and future seasons of the detective series "Psych," marking the first time the series has been syndicated on a broadcast network. Meantime, the Emmy(R) Award winning series "Monk" comes to ION with all eight complete seasons.

ION Television recently announced its acquisition of "Psych" and "Monk" produced by Universal Cable Productions and "House" produced by Universal Media Studios as part of its overall programming strategy of providing high-quality content. The three hit series join ION Television's primetime schedule of the popular off-net series "Without a Trace," "Criminal Minds," "Ghost Whisperer," along with ION's first original police drama "Flashpoint."

"Psych" is a quick-witted series starring James Roday as young police consultant Shawn Spencer who solves crimes with powers of observation so acute that Santa Barbara PD detectives think he is psychic. The series also stars Dulé Hill as Shawn's best friend and reluctant partner Burton "Gus" Guster, as well as Corbin Bernsen as Shawn's captious father, Henry.

One of the most successful series ever on cable, "Monk," features Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk, a once rising star with the San Francisco Police Department, legendary for using unconventional means to solve the department's most baffling cases. But after the tragic (and still unsolved) murder of his wife Trudy, Monk developed an extreme case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Now consumed by peculiar obsessions and wracked with hundreds of phobias (including but certainly not limited to germs, heights, and even milk), Monk has lost his badge and struggles with even the simplest everyday tasks. Now working as a private consultant, Monk continues to investigate cases in the most unconventional ways.

ABOUT ION TELEVISION

ION Television is a leading U.S. general entertainment network, combining high-quality programming and dependable broadcast distribution with an attitude of innovation and growth normally associated with a cable channel. Its "Positively Entertaining" network brand positioning features a formula of proven series, an expansive catalog of blockbuster movies and a commitment to introduce new original programming. Since its recent launch in 2008, ION's reach has grown to 99 million households and has become one of the top-15 TV rated U.S. networks in record time. For more information, visit www.iontelevision.com.