BIO CHANNEL AGGRESIVELY EXPANDING ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING SLATE
NETWORK IN PRODUCTION ON FOUR NEW SERIES, RETURNING ONE WHILE EXPERIENCING MONUMENTAL GROWTH
Los Angeles, CA, July 9, 2008 � Bio Channel is aggressively expanding its original programming slate this year by adding four new original series in primetime and returning two, it was announced today by Bob DeBitetto, President and General Manager of A&E Network and Bio Channel.
This significant investment in original programming will nearly double original content in prime compared to Summer 2007 when Bio Channel refreshed its brand. As always Bio Channel will focus on true stories about fascinating people, proving that the truth is always more entertaining than fiction.
"Bio is all about telling true stories about fascinating people and as the fastest growing network in cable it has turned into quite a story itself" said DeBitetto. "This aggressive programming slate will maintain the level of quality our viewers have come to expect from the network. We will continue to focus first and foremost on alluring people and their true stories in a fresh, honest and entertaining voice �stories you just cannot make up."
Bio Channel posted double-digit increases year-to-date vs. 2007. It's prime average is up by 50% in household rating, up by 25% in total viewers and up by 46% in the target demo of Adults 25-54. In addition, year-to-year Bio Channel's median age has fallen by 5 years.
With a concentrated commitment to high definition content, all new Bio Channel productions will be shot in HD. The upcoming slate draws on the network's current schedule and includes the following new original series in development:
Shatner's Raw Nerve - From Twilight Zone to Star Trek to TJ Hooker to Boston Legal, Emmy-Award winner William Shatner is one of America's most beloved and versatile stars. Shatner's Raw Nerve will be his own edgy and off-beat celebrity interview series, showcasing his unique sensibility, from the satirical to the sublime to the serious � but here's the hook - in each episode Shatner will attempt to probe his guest's most sensitive subjects and touch upon a Raw Nerve by explore life's most intriguing questions and unearth his guests' strange and unknown stories that are most surprising, revealing, funny, touching or bizarre. A unique feature of the show will be its unpredictability, allowing Shatner to work his particular magic on each guest in a unique way.
Shatner's Raw Nerve is produced by Scott Sternberg Productions with Scott Sternberg as executive producer. Executive producers for Bio Channel are Robert Sharenow and Michael Morrison.
The Chris Isaak Hour - It's Biography meets Storytellers. This live performance and interview show will explore the lives of mainstream musical artists by allowing them to tell their life stories through the music they've created, the songs and artists that inspired them and the relationships they forged along their path to success. Hosted by music star, Chris Issak, each episode will bring guest's stories to life as viewers discover the experiences and influences which helped mold them into the person and performer they are today. Chris delivers major music credibility to the show. His intelligent, thoughtful and sometimes irreverent conversation style interviews will put his guests at ease. Inter-cut throughout the interview segments will be exclusive live performances of featured guests shot at an intimate venue.
The Chris Isaak Hour is produced by Scott Sternberg Productions with Scott Sternberg as executive producer. Executive producers for Bio Channel are Robert Sharenow and Tom Moody.
Female Forces - Brains, beauty, and a badge... In each episode of Female Forces, viewers will ride shotgun with a police department's female officers and get an in-the-squad car view of what it's like to be a female crime fighter. Female Forces has secured exclusive access to the Naperville Police Department � a suburb of Chicago. Naperville's 18 female police officers fight a full gamut of "big city" crime: Shootings, fights, public drunkenness, etc.
Female Forces is produced for Bio by The Greif Company. Gene Simmons, Leslie Greif, Adam Reed, and Adam Freedman are the series executive producers. Executive Producers for Bio Channel are Stephen Harris, Neil A. Cohen and Robert Sharenow.
Why I Ran - Across the country, real-life high-speed police chases rivet viewers to the TV screen. We've heard the eyewitness accounts, seen the police point of view, but no one has ever been able to go inside the mind of the driver...until now. For the first time on television, we will hear from the actual people who have led the police on some of the most dangerous high-speed pursuits ever. Up-close and personal, viewers will be along for the entire ride with gritty, unfiltered stories... all of them true.
Why I Ran is produced for Bio Channel by Intuitive Entertainment. Kevin Dill is the series executive producer. Executive producers for Bio Channel are Elaine Frontain Bryant and Robert Sharenow.
RETURNING SERIES:
I Survived... - What would you do if you were confronted with death? What gives someone the strength to survive? In a stripped-down, simple-yet-cinematic interview style, the second season of I Survived allows survivors to explain, in their own words, how they overcame unbelievable circumstances -- offering insight into what got them through the experience that changed their lives forever. I Survived... is storytelling at its most dramatic, most basic and most honest. From victims of a small plane crash in a remote area, to a man who took a wrong turn on a mountain road, to a woman who was shot 3 times and left for dead in a field � each survivor tells the inspiring story of what kept each of them alive.
I Survived... is produced by NHNZ for Bio Channel. Executive producer is CarolAnne Dolan. Executive producers for Bio Channel are Colleen Conway, Laura Fleury and Robert Sharenow.
Biography � a new season of the Emmy award-winning show that launched the network, Biography, features in-depth profiles of the exceptional people whose lives and times stir our imagination. Biography thrives on rich details, fascinating portraits and historical accuracy, seasoned with insider insights and observations. New episodes and specials will include Tyler Perry, Eddie Murphy, Mel Gibson and much more.
About Bio Channel
At Bio, we prove that the truth about people is always more entertaining than fiction. Bio is about real people and their real lives: up close and personal, gritty and provocative, always unfiltered. Bio original series uncover the real drama in people stories: everyday situations with a twist; celebrities going off-script; people-centric crime stories and paranormal events. In addition to being the exclusive home to the Emmy-Award winning Biography� series, the dynamic blend of original and acquired series on Bio includes Final 24, Psychic Investigators and the upcoming William Shatner hosted talk show, Shatner's Raw Nerve. The 24-hour network is now available in more than 47 million households. The Bio web site is located at www.bio.tv.
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