LINGO Goes Into Production for Its Fourth Season, Marking a First for GSN, the Network for Games

Legendary Game Show Host Chuck Woolery Joins New Co-Host Shandi Finnessey, Miss USA 2004

SANTA MONICA, Calif., June 23 -- LINGO has started its fourth season of production this week, making it the first original series ever to be picked up for a fourth season at GSN, the Network for Games. Joining legendary host Chuck Woolery this season is Shandi Finnessey, Miss USA 2004. The fourth season will premiere Monday, August 1 and will air Monday through Friday 7:00-7:30 PM and 7:30-8:00 PM, ET/PT. These new episodes will also air on Saturdays 2-3 PM ET/PT.

Host Woolery is known by audiences worldwide for such popular classics as "Love Connection" and "Greed," both of which air on GSN, in addition to "Scrabble" and the first seven years of "Wheel of Fortune." Co-host Shandi Finnessey (Miss USA 2004), originally from St. Louis, has a master's degree in counseling. She has written a children's book, The Furrtails, as part of her goal to integrate developmentally challenged children into regular classrooms.

"Our fans love Chuck and we think Shandi will add a great, fresh dollop of fun to the show," said Ian Valentine, Senior Vice President, Programming, GSN.

During the first two rounds of LINGO, two teams of two contestants compete to see who can guess the most mystery five-letter words. When a team guesses a word correctly, they earn points toward the right to blindly select two numbered balls out of the 24 balls whose numbers match those on the team's bingo-style Lingo board.

When the team succeeds in getting five numbers in a row (horizontally, vertically or diagonally), they achieve "Lingo" and win additional points. The goal of the game during the first two rounds is to earn points -- the higher-scoring team moves onto the final round where they attempt to correctly identify as many words as they can in two minutes. They earn $100 and the right to pick one Lingo ball for each word they guess correctly. If the team achieves Lingo, they win $5,000. If they achieve Lingo with their first ball pulled, they win $10,000.

LINGO is produced by Laurelwood Entertainment. Phil Gurin ("The Weakest Link") and Marc Jansen serve as executive producers.

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, alternative sports programs and casino games. As the industry leader in interactivity, GSN features over 100 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. Reaching 57 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.

SOURCE GSN
Web Site: http://corp.gsn.com