TV ONE IS KNOCKING OUT LABOR DAY WEEKEND WITH "RINGSIDE" PREMIERE AND "EMPIRE" MARATHON

Original Movie Debuts Sunday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. ET Followed By A Season 2 Empire Marathon on Monday, Sept. 5 Beginning at 7 a.m. ET

SILVER SPRING, MD - SEPT. 1, 2016 - TV One is sure to knock out Labor Day weekend with its Sunday, Sept. 4 debut of RINGSIDE (7 p.m. ET; encore 9 p.m. ET), the network's latest original movie written, produced and directed by nationally syndicated radio host Russ Parr (Hear No Evil, The Undershepherd, 35 and Ticking), and an all-day marathon the second season of EMPIRE, television's award-winning and most nominated series, on Monday, Sept. 5, beginning at 7 a.m. ET.

RINGSIDE stars Tyler Lepley (The Haves and the Have Nots, Baggage Claim) as undefeated boxer Jaxon Hollie and explores the personal battles he faces outside of the ring while preparing for the biggest fight of his career. Jaxon is a fast-rising star in the tough world of professional boxing whose "street cred" and perceived worthiness to challenge his upcoming opponent - the current champion - are under fire due to his middle class upbringing and advanced education.

As Jaxon trains for the title fight, the trash-talking, steroid-taking champ Spencer "Timber" Collier played by Allen Maldonado (Straight Outta Compton, Black-ish) does everything he can to take Jaxon off his game. The stakes are high and family drama, thirsty groupies, and a manager with a serious gambling problem are all vying for Jaxon's attention, making it difficult for him to stay focused on the task at hand - winning the belt. In the midst of being pushed to the limit both physically and mentally, Jaxon meets a beautiful photographer Endira (Raney Branch; The Originals, Grey's Anatomy) who captures his heart while hiding a devastating secret.

TV ONE is also celebrating the blockbuster drama EMPIRE with a second season binge-a-thon on Monday, Sept. 4 giving viewers a chance to catch up with Cookie, Lucious and the rest of the conniving clan before the series' highly-anticipated third season premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 9 p.m. ET on FOX. Beginning at 7 a.m. ET, viewers can binge back-to-back on all 18 episodes of the second season starring Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard and Academy Award and Emmy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson.

For more information about RINGSIDE and EMPIRE on TV One, visit the network's companion website at www.tvone.tv. TV One viewers can also join the conversation by connecting via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@tvonetv) using the hash tags #Ringside and #EmpireOnTVONE and catch clips and promos on TV One's YouTube Channel.

ABOUT RINGSIDE

In the original made-for-television movie, Ringside, Tyler Lepley (The Haves and the Have Nots) portrays Jaxon Holley, an undefeated boxer preparing for a game-changing fight while being taunted by his outrageous, belt-holding opponent and corrupt former manager. In order to win this life-altering bout, Jaxon must zone out the chaos, groupies and other distractions, including his rhyme-stealing rapper brother (Tequan Richmond), gambling manager (Jackie Long) and younger sister (Sevyn Streeter) who seems to be looking for love in all the wrong places. This multi-layered drama was written, produced and directed by nationally syndicated radio host Russ Parr (Hear No Evil, The Undershepherd, 35 and Ticking). Tequan Richmond (Ray, Everybody Hates Chris, General Hospital), Jackie Long (Real Husbands of Hollywood, ATL), popular Atlantic Records singer/songwriter Sevyn Streeter, Julissa Bermudez (Meet the Browns, Empire, Girls), Charlamagne Tha God (The Guy Code; radio personality); Kwame Patterson (The Wire, Castle); and Da'Vone McDonald (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) are also part of Ringside's talented cast Ringside was written and directed by nationally-syndicated radio host Russ Parr (Hear No Evil, The Undershepherd, 35 and Ticking) and produced by Swirl Films. Eric Tomosunas and Keith Neal serve as Executive Producers. Leah Daniel Butler, C.S.A. serves as Casting Director. Lamar Chase serves as Executive in Charge of Production; Donyell McCullough is Sr. Director, Talent & Casting; Robyn Green Arrington is Vice President of Programming and Production and D'Angela Proctor is SVP of Original Programming and Production for TV One.

ABOUT EMPIRE

Entering its third season, EMPIRE continues to shatter records, finishing the second season as the No. 1 show on broadcast television. Named a Top 10 Television Program of the Year by the American Film Institute, EMPIRE was the only broadcast series to earn a Golden Globe Award nomination this past year in the category of Best Television Series - Drama. Additionally, Taraji P. Henson won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama and recently was nominated for an Emmy Award, for the second year in a row, in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Also, the Season One soundtrack was nominated for a 2016 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media. EMPIRE is a powerful drama about a family dynasty set within the glamorous and sometimes dangerous world of hip-hop music. The show revolves around the Lyon family and their media company, Empire Entertainment. The founder, LUCIOUS LYON (Terrence Howard), is the king of hip-hop, but his company and reign are constantly threatened by his family, including his ex-wife, COOKIE LYON (Taraji P. Henson); his sons, JAMAL (Jussie Smollett), HAKEEM (Bryshere "Yazz" Gray) and ANDRE (Trai Byers); and a volatile and competitive music industry. The drama returns in Season Three, as the battle continues for the Soul of Empire. Each member of the Lyon family must cope with the events that were set in motion in the Season Two finale. Lucious pursues his music legacy with his streaming service, while also clashing with his half-brother, Tariq (Morocco Omari), who is leading a federal task force investigating him. Cookie aims to start over, in pursuit of her own happiness - a series of flashbacks reveal how Loretha Holloway became Cookie Lyon and how Cookie met Lucious. Meanwhile, the Lyon brothers - Andre, Jamal and Hakeem - all are determined to overcome the events of last season and move on, but the choices they face will become a battle for the soul of the Lyon family. EMPIRE is from Imagine Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. The series is created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong. The series is executive-produced by Daniels, Strong, Brian Grazer, Ilene Chaiken ("The L Word"), Sanaa Hamri ("Shameless," "Nashville") and Francie Calfo ("Those Who Kill," "Gang Related"). "Like" EMPIRE on Facebook at facebook.com/EmpireFOX. Follow the series on Twitter @EmpireFOXand join the discussion using #Empire. See photos and videos on Instagram by following @EmpireFOX.

ABOUT TV ONE:

Launched in January 2004, TV One (www.tvone.tv) serves 57 million households, offering a broad range of real-life and entertainment-focused original programming, classic series, movies and music designed to entertain and inform a diverse audience of adult Black viewers. The network is the exclusive home of News One Now, the only live daily news program targeting Black viewers. In December 2008, the company launched TV One High Def, which now serves 14 million households. TV One is solely owned by Radio One [NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK, www.radio-one.com], the largest radio company that primarily targets Black and urban listeners.