GSN, the Network That First Brought Live Participation TV to America, Adds Another Night to Successful 'PLAYMANIA' Block

Starting August 27, Sundays Will Be Added to the PLAYMANIA Late Night Block Series' Addition Will Kick Off With Tribute to the Big TV Awards Weekend

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 4 -- GSN, the network for games, is proud to add a fourth night to its successful live participation TV franchise PLAYMANIA, the first of its kind to air in the United States. PLAYMANIA premiered April 6 and has seen tremendous growth in its Thursday through Saturday (1:00-3:00 AM ET/10:00-Midnight PT*) air schedule, which will expand to include Sundays starting August 27; it was announced today by Rich Cronin, president and CEO of GSN.

The addition of Sunday nights falls on the same evening as television's Emmy Awards show, so PLAYMANIA will pay homage to the television world all weekend with TV-themed games and puzzles, increased prize values, guest celebrity visits and more, starting Thursday, August 24.

"As the network for games and the industry's interactive leader, we're proud to have been the first channel in America to offer live participation TV game shows," said Cronin. "This format has proven to be very successful in Europe, and we see it playing a large role in interactive television in the United States."

"Since PLAYMANIA's April premiere, we have experienced 300% growth in participation. Much of this success is due to the fact that the GSN audience loves to play games," said John P. Roberts, Senior Vice President of Digital Media and Interactive Entertainment. "This announcement is just the beginning ... we have many upcoming innovations that will thrill our growing community of self-proclaimed 'PlayManiacs'."

PLAYMANIA is a live interactive game show where viewers become contestants, playing a multitude of interactive word games, number games and puzzles. Hosted by LINGO co-host and former Miss USA Shandi Finnessey, and by British QUIZNATION star Mel Peachy, PLAYMANIA gives viewers the opportunity to compete for cash and prizes up to $5,000 by text messaging or going online to gsn.com.

PLAYMANIA is produced by GSN in conjunction with Optimistic Entertainment.

Optimistic, Optimistic Entertainment develops, produces and distributes interactive TV content and IP for its own and third party networks. Recent shows and commissions include "Flipside TV," "Pop the Q," "Celebrity Soup" and "Play Sudoku." The company was established in 2002 by Jasper Smith and David Brook. Further information on Optimistic Entertainment can be found at http://www.oeplc.com

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 and casino games. As the industry leader in interactivity, GSN features over 133 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. Now reaching more than 60 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.

-GSN-

SOURCE GSN
http://www.oeplc.com http://gsn.com http://corp.gsn.com