From: http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/g...amp;newsLang=en

March 28, 2007 09:38 AM Eastern Daylight Time

ION Television Continues Ratings Climb in Primetime

TV Network to Host Upfront Sales Presentation on May 3rd in New York City

ION and RHI Entertainment to Announce Original Productions

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ION Television, ION Media Networks’ (AMEX:ION) flagship TV network reaching over 90 million homes, continues to deliver significant ratings gains in weekday primetime versus last year. According to the latest Nielsen Media Research data, ION Television’s weekday primetime average is up 30 percent for the season compared to the first two quarters of 2006.

With this ratings progress and new content initiatives, including its partnership with RHI Entertainment, ION Television sees growth opportunities in the general advertising marketplace. The network will host an Upfront sales presentation for advertisers on Thursday, May 3, 2007 in New York City to unveil its programming strategy for the 2007-2008 season. RHI Entertainment, which will serve as ION Television’s exclusive programming supplier on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights beginning June 29th, will provide a sneak preview of some of the original titles debuting on ION later this year.

“Our on-air launch of RHI’s award-winning family-oriented content in June is the next milestone in positioning ION Television for growth,” said Brandon Burgess, President and CEO, ION Media Networks. “Plus, we are working on additional content initiatives that our advertising clients will find interesting and forward-thinking.”

“Our ongoing efforts to expand the network’s programming appeal have resulted in solid ratings growth for our primetime lineup,” said Stephen Appel, ION’s President of Sales and Marketing. “These gains translate into attractive audiences for our advertisers, and we look forward to presenting to the advertising community our programming plans for the upcoming season at our first Upfront under the new ION Television brand.”

“We are thrilled to be joining forces with ION Television on unveiling their new programming slate, anchored by RHI’s award-winning library product and exclusive original content on weekends starting this summer,” said Robert Halmi, Jr., President & CEO of RHI Entertainment. “This unique partnership is a win-win, affording the opportunity to showcase our movies and miniseries in more U.S. homes than ever before.”

For the week ending March 25th, ION Television delivered its best performance for a single program this season with its broadcast of “The Cowboys,” starring John Wayne, on Sunday, March 25th at 8 p.m. The movie posted a 0.9 HH rating (1,044,000), boosting the night’s primetime average to a 0.8 HH rating (932,000), the network’s highest single weekend night performance for the season.

Overall, ION Television’s weekend movies, currently featuring popular titles from the libraries of Warner Bros., Sony and NBC Universal, have improved their time period by over 50 percent in households compared to the first two quarters of 2006.

In addition, during the recently concluded February Sweep period, ION Television’s viewers proved they love their “Mama,” with “Mama’s Family” posting a 0.9 HH rating (1,008,000) on Thursday, February 15th. The night, anchored by “Diagnosis Murder” at 9 p.m. and “Charlie’s Angels” at 10 p.m., delivered the network’s highest single weeknight performance for the season at a 0.7 HH rating (752,000).

About ION Media Networks

ION Media Networks, Inc. owns and operates the nation’s largest broadcast television station group and ION Television, reaching over 90 million U.S. television households via its nationwide broadcast television, cable and satellite distribution systems. ION Television currently features popular TV series and movies from the award-winning libraries of Warner Bros., Sony Pictures Television, CBS Television and NBC Universal, and has partnered with RHI Entertainment, which owns over 4,000 hours of acclaimed television content, to provide weekend primetime programming beginning June 2007. Utilizing its digital multicasting capability, the company has launched several digital TV brands, including qubo, a television and multimedia network for children formed in partnership with Scholastic, Corus Entertainment, Classic Media and NBC Universal, and ION Life, a television and multimedia network dedicated to health and wellness for consumers and families. For more information, visit www.ionmedia.tv.

About RHI Entertainment

RHI Entertainment, LLC is the global leader in the production and distribution of groundbreaking miniseries and movies for television. Since the company’s inception, under the guidance of Robert Halmi, Sr. and Robert Halmi, Jr., RHI has produced and distributed over 4,000 hours of quality television programming, received 104 Emmy Awards, and outperformed the competition annually in viewer ratings. Currently, RHI provides 40 to 60 new television movies and miniseries a year to networks worldwide.

I just wish they would add Alice and The Wonder years

They are R!ck ...

Starting Monday. Where have you been?

Alice will air at 7:30 and Wonder Years will air at 10 and 10:30 PM.

They are R!ck ...

Starting Monday. Where have you been?

Alice will air at 7:30 and Wonder Years will air at 10 and 10:30 PM.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Alice is okay, but I never did care much for The Wonder Years though.

Does anyone know why they never aired any Farrah Fawcett episodes of Charlie's Angels? It's like they skipped them and her return visits as well.

When Charlie's Angels first started they aired all of her episodes but after the initial run of all of the episodes ended they've just aired random episodes.

Wow. This channel is doing better than MyNetworkTV!