or


[10/18/06 - 03:59 PM]
Bravo and Time Warner Cable Bring Interactive Television Back for 'Top Chef' Viewers
Feature will allow viewers to respond with their remote control to a series of topical questions and voice their opinions about the contestants.

[via press release from Bravo]

BRAVO AND TIME WARNER CABLE BRING INTERACTIVE TELEVISION BACK FOR 'TOP CHEF' VIEWERS

BRAVO AND TIME WARNER CABLE BRING INTERACTIVE TELEVISION BACK FOR 'TOP CHEF' VIEWERS

Interactive Application Sponsored Exclusively by Sears

New York, NY - October 18, 2006 - Bravo and Time Warner Cable team up again to bring interactive television back for the second season of Bravo's hit one-hour reality competition series "Top Chef," premiering tonight at 11:00 p.m. Last season's interactive television polling drew nearly 30 percent participation in the available Time Warner Cable markets.

In addition, Sears will be the exclusive sponsor for the interactive application and will have logo presence and text prompts during the program. Sears was among the traditional advertising sponsors Bravo previously announced along with Toyota and Glad for "Top Chef."

Beginning with tonight's premiere and continuing throughout the season during its regular time on Wednesdays at 10:00pm/ET, Time Warner Cable, through its use of Navic Networks' interactive television application, will allow viewers to respond with their remote control to a series of topical questions and voice their opinions about the contestants. The polling will appear as overlay generated by viewer's set-top boxes that will be synchronized to occur at precise moments during the one-hour show. Navic Networks' technology will record and compile the votes and display the results to viewers in real time in each of their local markets.

"We're thrilled to partner again with Time Warner Cable and continue to innovate in interactive television," said Jean-Briac Perrette, Senior Vice President, New Media and CFO, NBC Universal Cable. "This season should be an even bigger success given the popularity of the show and the interactive application."

"We are excited for the return of this applications for the second season of Bravo's 'Top Chef,' and for once again providing our digital customers with a truly interactive television experience, giving them the ability to actively participate in what they watch," said Bob Benya, Senior Vice President of On Demand and Interactive TV for Time Warner Cable. "Time Warner Cable continues offering its customers an increasing array of value added services such as this Interactive feature."

Bravo also continues its overall series partnership with Food & Wine magazine to include the expertise of the publication's Gail Simmons as a regular on-air judge, and prizing for the winner of "Top Chef" to be featured in an upcoming issue of Food & Wine and appear at the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.

Bravo's newest hit reality competition series "Top Chef" offers a fascinating window into the competitive, pressure-filled environment of world-class cookery and the restaurant business at the highest level. The series features fifteen aspiring chefs who compete for their shot at culinary stardom and the chance to earn the prestigious title of "Top Chef." Each episode holds two challenges for the chefs. The first is a quickfire test of their basic abilities and the second is a more involved elimination challenge designed to test the versatility and invention of the chefs as they take on unique culinary trials such as working with unusual and exotic foods or catering for a range of demanding clients. The competing chefs live and breathe the high-pressure lifestyle that comes with being a master chef, and each week someone is asked to "pack up their knives" and go home.

Best-selling author Padma Lakshmi will host the new season. Tom Colicchio, one of the culinary world's most celebrated figures and co-founder of New York City's Gramercy Tavern and Craft Restaurants, serves as lead judge and head chef to the competing chefs. Food expert Gail Simmons of Food & Wine magazine is as a judge for the series.

About Bravo

Bravo is the cable network that plugs people into arts, entertainment and pop culture with original programming, acclaimed drama series, movies, comedy and music specials, and by showing a whole different side of celebrities. Currently available in more than 80 million homes, Bravo is known for breaking exciting new personalities, shaking up the way we look at style, media, fame and Hollywood, pulling back the curtain on the creative process, and making influential and inventive original programming. Its critically acclaimed original programming includes the Emmy-nominated "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List," 12-time Emmy-nominated "Inside the Actors Studio," "The Real Housewives of Orange County," "Top Chef," "Celebrity Poker Showdown," as well as the 2004 Emmy winner for Outstanding Reality Program, "Queer Eye," and the four-time Emmy-nominated hit competition series, "Project Runway."

About Time Warner Cable

Time Warner Cable owns and manages cable systems serving 13.5 million subscribers in 33 states. Passing approximately 26 million homes, Time Warner Cable includes some of the most technologically advanced and best-clustered cable systems in the country, with nearly 85 percent of the Company's customers located in five geographic regions: New York, Texas, Ohio, the Carolinas and southern California. Leveraging its leadership in innovation and quality customer care, Time Warner Cable delivers advanced products and services such as video on demand, high definition television, digital video recorders, high-speed data and Digital Phone. Time Warner Cable is a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX).

About NBC Universal Cable

NBC Universal Cable, a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's preeminent media companies, drives the company's cable strategic development and growth including video-on-demand, pay-per-view, HDTV and retransmission consent, and oversees the cable distribution, marketing and local ad sales of fourteen properties (Bravo, CNBC, CNBC World, MSNBC, mun2, NBC Weather Plus, SCI FI, ShopNBC, Sleuth, Telemundo, Telemundo Puerto Rico, Universal HD, USA and the Olympics on cable). NBC Universal Cable also directs and manages the company's cable and new media investments including A&E, The History Channel, History Channel International, The Biography Channel, National Geographic International, the Sundance Channel and Tivo.

About Navic Networks

Navic Networks is the leading targeted advertising and interactive television solutions provider to the cable and direct broadcast satellite industry. Navic's technology powers interactive applications on over 29 million digital set-top boxes in North America. Navic Networks is a privately held corporation headquartered in Needham, Mass. For more information, visiti www.navic.tv.





  [october 2006]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· TOP CHEF (BRAVO)





[05/25/13 - 08:18 AM]
Friday's Broadcast Ratings: "Shark Tank" Tops Night of Repeats
Back-to-back rebroadcasts are the number one and two shows of the night among adults 18-49.

[05/24/13 - 02:13 PM]
Thursday's Cable Ratings: "Swamp People" Tops Demos, Viewers for History
Plus: numbers for AMC's "Showville," Showtime's "Last Days Here" and GSN's "Minute to Win It."

[05/24/13 - 01:35 PM]
Mike Darnell Votes Himself Out... of Fox Broadcasting Company
The longtime President of Alternative Entertainment has announced that he will be departing the network at the end of June.

[05/24/13 - 12:11 PM]
Blake Shelton Organizes "Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert" at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City on May 29
The concert will be televised live at 9:00/8:00c on NBC as well as on cable networks Style, G4, Bravo, E! and CMT.

[05/24/13 - 11:36 AM]
Syfy's "Paranormal Witness" Returns for Its Third Season on June 5 at 10 PM ET/PT
The new season begins with "The Long Island Terror," featuring intense demonic activity at a house in Long Island, NY.

[05/24/13 - 11:35 AM]
Chris and Heidi Powell and Twin Participants David and Rebecca Live Tweet During "Extreme Weight Loss" Season Premiere, May 28
They'll all be up on @realchrispowell, @realheidipowell, @DavidEWL3 and @BeccaEWL3, respectively.

[05/24/13 - 11:20 AM]
GSN Announces the Season Two Champions of "The American Bible Challenge"
The cable channel details the winners of the show's sophomore run.

[05/24/13 - 08:46 AM]
"Rookie Blue" Opens at #1 at 10pm with Its 2nd Biggest Audience Since 2010
ABC spins the numbers for Thursday, May 23.

[05/24/13 - 08:32 AM]
Thursday's Broadcast Ratings: FOX Opens Summer on Top in Demos
"Hell's Kitchen" and "Does Someone Have to Go?" hand the network victory in adults 18-49.

[05/23/13 - 11:26 PM]
Development Update: Thursday, May 23
Updates include: Clive Owen, Steven Soderbergh to bring "The Knick" to Cinemax; Neil LaBute's "Full Circle" sets cast; and Stephanie Sengupta departs The CW's "Reign."

[05/23/13 - 06:23 PM]
The CW Books "Cult" Revival for June 28; "The Hunt" Renamed "Capture"
They'll join previously announced summer originals "Breaking Pointe," "Perfect Score" and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"

[05/23/13 - 04:27 PM]
Wednesday's Cable Ratings: Pacers/Heat Opener Dominates for TNT
Plus: numbers for VH1's "Off Pitch," Oxygen's "Best Ink" and TLC's "The Town That Caught Tourettes?"

[05/23/13 - 03:01 PM]
NBC Completes Best May Sweep in Nine Years As Network Finishes 0.1 of Rating Point Out of First
NBC further spins the numbers for the May sweeps period.

[05/23/13 - 03:00 PM]
Syfy's "Killer Contact" (Formerly "Notorious Hauntings") to Premiere July 16 at 10 PM ET/PT
Viewers will follow a team of paranormal investigators as they research the otherworldly activity at historical sites.

[05/23/13 - 02:34 PM]
Kelly Osbourne Hosts Fan-Generated Special "Phineas and Ferb Musical Cliptastic Countdown," Premiering Friday, June 28 on Disney Channel
Leading up to the special, fans can get in on the action by voting for their favorite "Phineas and Ferb" music videos on DisneyChannel.com.