2001 News

New York, N.Y. , Aug. 21, 2001 -  WWE will produce a new two-hour magazine format series, WWE EXCESS, to anchor TNN's new five-hour Saturday night sports and entertainment lineup, "Slammin' Saturday Night," it was announced today by Diane Robina, Executive Vice President and General Manager, TNN and Stuart Snyder, COO, WWE Entertainment. "Slammin' Saturday Night" will premiere on TNN on Saturday, Aug. 25 (7:00 PM-12:00 Midnight, ET/PT) with the WWE series telecasting at 10:00 PM, ET/PT-12:00 Midnight, ET/PT. 

WWE EXCESS will be telecast live from WWE's television studio in Stamford, Conn. The new series replaces LIVEWIRE and WWE SUPERSTARS, which are currently telecast on Saturday and Sunday mornings, respectively, on TNN. WWE EXCESS will be hosted by Jonathan Coachman and Trish Stratus and will feature highlights from that week's live events, interviews with WWE Superstars, as well as feature segments about WWE activities. Viewers will also have the opportunity to e-mail and call in questions for the Superstars. The first episode will feature a live interview with WWE Superstar Triple H. 

"Saturday nights on TNN will become a new destination for viewers looking for the best in high-adrenaline sports and entertainment," stated Robina. "We're very excited that TNN will have the first WWE branded program where viewers can interact with WWE Superstars. In addition, WWE fans will be attracted to TNN's other adrenaline-charged sports and entertainment - TNN'S ROBOT WARS: EXTREME WARRIORS, Professional bull riding, and monster trucks." 

"The two-hour timeslot gives us additional diversity in programming content and is the perfect complement to our live event-based programs (RAW IS WAR on TNN, WWE SMACKDOWN! on UPN), live programs (SUNDAY NIGHT HEAT on MTV) and reality-based programming (WWE TOUGH ENOUGH on MTV)," stated WWE's Snyder. "Entertaining our fans is always the first priority. Towards that goal, we're extremely excited to bring them an open and interactive forum to participate in WWE EXCESS via telephone and e-mail."

TNN currently telecasts the highest rated weekly show on cable, WWE's RAW IS WAR, live Monday nights (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) from venues around the country. RAW IS WAR set a new viewership record on TNN last month, when 7.6 million viewers tuned in on July 30, marking the most watched telecast in TNN's 18-year history. 

TNN's new "Slammin Saturday Night" will open each week with PBR (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT), a series featuring the world's best and most fearless professional bullriders taking on the "superstars" of American livestock in the most dangerous event in modern rodeo and America's first extreme sport. MONSTER JAM (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) features the nastiest and most destructive monster trucks in racing and freestyle competitions from tracks all around the country. ROBOT WARS: EXTREME WARRIORS, a new original robotic action series telecasting at 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT, is hosted by WWE Superstar and best-selling author Mick Foley, and features U.S. teams that design and build radio-controlled fighting machines and battle it out to see whose robot is supreme.

TNN: THE NATIONAL NETWORK has been setting ratings records each month since MTV Networks acquired it in September 2000 and turned it into America's first pop network. Distributed in more than 81 million U.S. homes, TNN has grown into a top-ten network among viewing households and Adults 18-49. TNN connects its viewers with the tops in pop culture, including WWE RAW IS WAR, cable's top-rated series, and top-flight Hollywood movies. Later this year, the network is set to become the new home of STAR TREK, the most popular franchise in television history, and BAYWATCH, the most popular TV series in the world. "Pop" movies include THE GODFATHER and more. The first original programs from the network's slate of original series featuring "real people, real stories" debuts in August. TNN is also developing a special connection with its viewers through its toll-free number, 1-888-POP-1090, which receives more than 100,000 calls each month. TNN viewers share their views on television, what's on movie screens, what's going on in their hometowns, what's on their minds - and their voices and faces serve as the network's on-air voice, creating a unique community among TNN viewers.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom International Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), owns and operates the following television programming services -- MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, NICKELODEON/NICK at NITE, TV LAND, TNN: THE NATIONAL NETWORK, CMT: COUNTRY MUSIC TELEVISION and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of nine digital services, all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide. In addition, MTV Networks operates the MTVi Group and Nickelodeon Online, a portfolio of leading Internet properties built to address every interest of today's music fan and Internet-savvy kid.

WWE Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: WWE) is an integrated media and entertainment company headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and Toronto. Additional information on the company can be found at wwe.com and wwecorpbiz.com.

* * *

Contacts: David Schwarz (TNN) 212/846-4187
Jayson Bernstein (TNN) 203/353-5015