GSN, the Network That First Brought Live Participation TV to America, Adds Another Night to Successful 'PLAYMANIA' Block
Starting August 27, Sundays Will Be Added to the PLAYMANIA Late Night Block
Series' Addition Will Kick Off With Tribute to the Big TV Awards Weekend
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 4 -- GSN, the network for
games, is proud to add a fourth night to its successful live participation
TV franchise PLAYMANIA, the first of its kind to air in the United States.
PLAYMANIA premiered April 6 and has seen tremendous growth in its Thursday
through Saturday (1:00-3:00 AM ET/10:00-Midnight PT*) air schedule, which
will expand to include Sundays starting August 27; it was announced today
by Rich Cronin, president and CEO of GSN.
The addition of Sunday nights falls on the same evening as television's
Emmy Awards show, so PLAYMANIA will pay homage to the television world all
weekend with TV-themed games and puzzles, increased prize values, guest
celebrity visits and more, starting Thursday, August 24.
"As the network for games and the industry's interactive leader, we're
proud to have been the first channel in America to offer live participation
TV game shows," said Cronin. "This format has proven to be very successful
in Europe, and we see it playing a large role in interactive television in
the United States."
"Since PLAYMANIA's April premiere, we have experienced 300% growth in
participation. Much of this success is due to the fact that the GSN
audience loves to play games," said John P. Roberts, Senior Vice President
of Digital Media and Interactive Entertainment. "This announcement is just
the beginning ... we have many upcoming innovations that will thrill our
growing community of self-proclaimed 'PlayManiacs'."
PLAYMANIA is a live interactive game show where viewers become
contestants, playing a multitude of interactive word games, number games
and puzzles. Hosted by LINGO co-host and former Miss USA Shandi Finnessey,
and by British QUIZNATION star Mel Peachy, PLAYMANIA gives viewers the
opportunity to compete for cash and prizes up to $5,000 by text messaging
or going online to gsn.com.
PLAYMANIA is produced by GSN in conjunction with Optimistic
Entertainment.
Optimistic, Optimistic Entertainment develops, produces and distributes
interactive TV content and IP for its own and third party networks. Recent
shows and commissions include "Flipside TV," "Pop the Q," "Celebrity Soup"
and "Play Sudoku." The company was established in 2002 by Jasper Smith and
David Brook. Further information on Optimistic Entertainment can be found
at http://www.oeplc.com
GSN, the Network for Games, is the only U.S. television network
dedicated to game-related programming and interactive game playing. The
network features game shows, reality series, documentaries and casino
games. As the industry leader in interactivity, GSN features over 133 hours
per week of interactive programming, which allows viewers a chance to win
prizes by playing along with GSN's televised games via GSN.com. Now
reaching more than 60 million Nielsen homes, GSN is distributed in the U.S.
through all major cable systems and satellite providers. The network is
jointly owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media Corporation.
For further media information, visit GSN's press website at corp.gsn.com.
-GSN-
SOURCE GSN
http://www.oeplc.com
http://gsn.com
http://corp.gsn.com
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