ELLEN DeGENERES' FURNITURE COMPETITION SERIES TO PREMIERE ON HGTV JANUARY 26 AT 9 P.M. ET/PT

New York [For Immediate Release -December 15, 2014] Ellen's Design Challenge, HGTV's new furniture competition series - conceptualized by television icon and entertainment pioneer Ellen DeGeneres - is set to premiere Monday, January 26, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The six-episode series, Ellen's first on cable television, will feature six competitors as they tackle ingenious challenges to sketch, design and build extraordinary furniture. Produced by Ellen's production company, A Very Good Production, and A. Smith & Co. in association with Telepictures, the competition series requires that contestants create inventive furniture designs to avoid elimination. The last competitor standing receives a $100,000 cash prize courtesy of Wayfair.com and gets to see their work featured in HGTV Magazine.

"I realized when I had my name on the show that I could change the rules," said Ellen. "Plus, I love furniture and I love television, so to put furniture on television is a win-win."

"Ellen's incomparable style and sense of humor adds a special element to this series," said Kathleen Finch, president, HGTV and DIY Network. "Our team is excited to share this fun, fresh, twist on the traditional design competition with viewers."

"I am most excited about seeing the furniture and then stealing it for my home," laughed Ellen.

Television personality Jay Montepare will serve as the series' host, while Amanda Dameron, editor-in-chief of Dwell, and Christiane Lemieux, executive creative director of Wayfair.com, will participate as judges in the competition. The six competitors include Carley Eisenberg, Boone, N.C.; Gaspar de Jesus, Los Angeles; Tim McClellan, Durango, Colo.; Mark Moskovitz, Cleveland, Ohio; Leslie Shapiro Joyal, Los Angeles; and Katie Stout, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Ellen's Design Challenge will highlight Ellen's passion for furniture and house design, as well as her expertise in the subject. The competitors will face design challenges that will keep them on their toes and, since the clock will be ticking, they will be paired with an expert carpenter to help them complete the task at hand, including Karl Champley, Jeff Devlin, Matt Muenster, David Sheinkopf, Brooks Utley and Chip Wade. In addition, each designer will have access to a "build team" and a large workshop with all the tools they'll need to measure and construct their amazing furniture creations.

More series information, including a sneak peek video and a behind-the-scenes photo gallery, is available at HGTV.com/Ellen. During the series run, a six-part online companion series will allow visitors to participate in another side of the competition.

Executive producers for the series are Ellen, Jeff Kleeman of A Very Good Production, and Arthur Smith, Kent Weed and Tim Eagan of A. Smith & Co.

ABOUT HGTV

America's leading home and lifestyle brand, HGTV features a top-rated cable network that is distributed to more than 96 million U.S. households and the HGTV website, HGTV.com, the nation's leading online home-and-garden destination that attracts an average of four million unique visitors per month. The brand also includes the HGTV HOME(TM) consumer products line which showcases exclusive collections of paint, flooring, lighting, furniture, plants, fabrics and other home-oriented products. In partnership with Hearst Magazines, the HGTV Magazine, a home and lifestyle publication, is currently available on newsstands. Viewers can become fans of HGTV and interact with other home improvement enthusiasts through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., HGTV is owned by Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI).

ABOUT TELEPICTURES

Telepictures is an industry-leading and Emmy(R) Award-winning producer of innovative, multiplatform advertiser-friendly television series and digital content for the first-run syndication, cable and digital marketplace. Programs produced by Telepictures have won 85 Emmy(R) Awards in the last 18 years, including Outstanding Talk Show or Outstanding Talk Show Host for 15 of the last 17 years. As of December 2014, Telepictures is producing the following series: The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Extra, Judge Mathis, The People's Court, The Real, TMZ, TMZ Hollywood Sports, TMZ Live, Candidly Nicole and Let's Ask America. Upcoming programs include Crime Watch Daily, Ellen's Design Challenge and Hello Goodbye. For more information about Telepictures programming, please visit www.telepicturestv.com.

ABOUT A VERY GOOD PRODUCTION

A Very Good Production (AVGP) is the Emmy(R)-winning television and film production company of producer/writer/actor/host Ellen DeGeneres. Based at Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG) with an exclusive multiyear deal, AVGP produces the nationally syndicated daytime talk program The Ellen DeGeneres Show and develops television projects for all divisions of WBTVG, including scripted and unscripted primetime series for network and cable, as well as additional syndicated fare. AVGP's current slate of projects includes the new scripted comedy One Big Happy, which will debut on NBC in 2015; Ellen's Design Challenge, a new unscripted design competition program for HGTV, premiering in 2015; and Hello Goodbye, an upcoming unscripted series for the Travel Channel highlighting heart-warming - and sometimes heart-wrenching - stories of love, sorrow, family and friendship from travelers of all cultures and walks of life. In addition, AVGP's film projects include Sing You Home, based on the Jodi Picoult novel, and an untitled feature starring DeGeneres and Rebel Wilson. Jeff Kleeman serves as President of A Very Good Production.

ABOUT A. SMITH & CO

A. Smith & Co. Productions creates some of the most innovative, highly rated and high-quality programming for the domestic and international television marketplace. The company has produced more than 2,000 hours of award-winning programming. Current productions include such hits as Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, American Ninja Warrior, Unsung, Full Throttle Saloon, Burns BBQ, Celebrity Crime Files, Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura, Too Young to Marry?, Save Our Business, UFC Countdown, Joe Rogan Questions Everything, Divorce Hotel and many others. A. Smith & Co.'s library of programming includes hit shows such as Paradise Hotel, I Survived a Japanese Game Show, The Swan, Trading Spaces, Pros vs. Joes and Skating with Celebrities. A. Smith & Co. has developed and produced the No. 1 show in America 25 times and a Top 10 show more than 200 times, producing programs with budgets totaling approximately one billion dollars for more than 42 broadcast and cable networks.