NFL Legend Michael Strahan and Acclaimed NFL Journalist Jay Glazer to Host New Season of Spike TV's 'Pros vs. Joes'
TV Veterans Arthur Smith and Kent Weed of Arthur Smith & Co. Productions To Serve As Executive Producers
NEW YORK, Jan. 29 -- Michael Strahan, a future NFL hall-of-famer and current television personality, joins well-respected veteran NFL journalist Jay Glazer as hosts of Spike TV's fourth season of its hit series, "Pros vs. Joes." The new season, entitled "Pros vs. Joes 4: All Stars," goes into production in sports venues around Los Angeles in February 2009 and launches in the spring.
Utilizing their solid sports background and sterling track record of delivering high quality unscripted hits, A. Smith & Co. Productions' Arthur Smith and Kent Weed ("Trading Spaces," "Hell's Kitchen") serve as executive producers of "Pros vs. Joes 4: All Stars" along with Michael Yudin, President of MY Entertainment and Joe Townley, COO of MY Entertainment. Smith is CEO of A. Smith & Co., and helped launch the successful Fox Sports Net in the late 1990's as its Head of Programming and Production.
Spike TV's "Pros vs. Joes 4: All Stars" will consist of eight episodes with each installment featuring three former notable professional athletes going head-to-head against three regular Joes. The roster of athletes will be announced at a later date.
The new twist this season is there will only be one sport showcased in each episode instead of the variety of sports in previous seasons. Each episode features three skills competitions and a three-on-three scrimmage pitting the Pros against the Joes. The sports featured this season will be football (4 episodes) and basketball (4 episodes).
Strahan spent 15 seasons with the New York Giants at defensive end, culminating with a Super Bowl victory in 2008. Named to seven Pro Bowls, he set the NFL single season sack-record with 22.5 in 2001 and was named the Defensive Player of the Year. The likely first ballot hall-of-famer currently serves as a studio analyst for FOX Sports' Emmy Award-winning pregame show, FOX NFL SUNDAY.
Glazer is considered to be the top "Insider" in the National Football League and currently serves in that role for FOX NFL SUNDAY where he has three segments on the show, breaking in with exclusives, late-breaking updates and injury news. He hosts FSN's "Pro Football Preview" show, which airs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Glazer is also a former mixed martial arts fighter who has hosted and served as color commentator for PRIDE Fighting Championships on FSN and other televised events for various MMA organizations.
"Pros vs. Joes 4: All Stars" is sponsored by Dunkin Donuts, Snickers and 2K Sports.
Sharon Levy and Tim Duffy are executives in charge of production for Spike TV.
Visit Spike.com for full episodes of all of last season's shows in high definition, as well as clips and other extended footage. Spike.com will be hosting the same exclusive access and full episode content for "Pros vs. Joes 4: All Stars."
Spike TV is available in 97.7 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV's Internet address is www.spike.com.
Founded by Arthur Smith and Kent Weed in 2000, A. Smith & Co. Productions generates some of the most innovative, highly-rated and high quality unscripted programming for the domestic and international television marketplace. Since its launch the company has created over 500 hours of programming and developed and produced the number one show in America an astonishing 12 times and a top 5 show over 50 times. The company's current production slate includes the Emmy(R) nominated hit show "Hell's Kitchen" as well as "Kitchen Nightmares" with Chef Gordon Ramsay, "I Survived a Japanese Game Show," "Trading Spaces" with host Paige Davis, the critically acclaimed documentary series "American Gangster" and "UFC Countdown."
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