ION Television Gets in Your Head with "Criminal Minds"
Series coming to ION Television in 2009, Evolving the Network as Popular Entertainment TV Destination
(West Palm Beach, Fla. � April 24, 2008) � ION Media Networks, Inc. today announced it has entered into a content agreement with CBS Television Distribution for the broadcast syndication rights to the hit television series, "Criminal Minds." ION Television will debut this popular show in prime time beginning in 2009. The deal continues the network�s positioning momentum as a general entertainment destination.
"This high caliber TV series strengthens and broadens ION Television with target audiences and advertisers long term," said Brandon Burgess, Chairman and CEO, ION Media Networks. "The series has compelling first run ratings on CBS and is showing strength going into its fourth original season."
"Criminal Minds" is an exciting crime drama that follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico, Virginia. The series is unique in its focus on the criminal rather than the crime itself. The cast includes Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor Mandy Patinkin ("Evita," "Chicago Hope," "The Princess Bride," "Yentl") in the first two seasons; Tony Award-winner Joe Mantegna ("Glengarry Glen Ross," "Joan of Arcadia," "The Simpsons"), who joined the cast in season three; Thomas Gibson ("Dharma & Greg," "Chicago Hope") and Daytime Emmy Award-winner Shemar Moore ("The Young and the Restless," "Diary of a Mad Black Woman"), among others. All the agents bring their expertise and personalities into play, as they map out predators� psychology and attempt to prevent the next crime.
"Criminal Minds" joins recent additions, including "Boston Legal," coming to ION off-network later this year, as well as "The Steve Harvey Show," "Family Feud" and "Quantum Leap," currently airing in ION Television�s expanded entertainment schedule. The network is pushing forward with its long-term strategy to meet the entertainment needs of the adult 25-54 demographic with a mix of compelling television series, theatrical and made-for-television movies, specials and sports.
About ION Media Networks
ION Media Networks, Inc. owns and operates the nation's largest broadcast television station group and ION Television, which reaches over 94 million U.S. television households via its nationwide broadcast television, cable and satellite distribution systems, and features popular TV series and movies from the award-winning libraries of RHI Entertainment, CBS Television, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television, Twentieth Television and Warner Bros., among others. Using its digital multicasting capability, the Company has launched several digital TV brands, including qubo, a channel for children focusing on literacy and values, and ION Life, a channel dedicated to active living and personal growth. It also has launched Open Mobile Ventures Corporation (OMVION), a business unit focused on the research and development of portable, mobile and out-of-home transmission technology using over-the-air digital television spectrum. For more information, visit www.ionmedia.tv.
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