GSN Announces the March 27 Air Date for 'CAT-MINSTER: CFA INTERNATIONAL CAT CHAMPIONSHIP,' the Biggest Cat Show in the World

Husband and Wife Team Bob Goen and Marianne Curan Host

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 12 -- GSN celebrates cats, the number one domesticated animal in the world with their CAT-MINSTER: CFA INTERNATIONAL CAT CHAMPIONSHIP, a two-hour special airing on Tuesday, March 27 (8:00 - 10:00 PM, ET).

"'Cat-Minster' is a perfect example of GSN's brand strategy to continue expanding into all other areas of competition. We believe that CAT-MINSTER has the potential to become an annual tent pole event for GSN," said Dena Kaplan, Senior Vice President of Marketing. "GSN is excited to highlight the world of top feline breeders putting their pedigreed pets, their pride and passion on the line to win the prestigious title 'best in show.'"

Hosted by Bob Goen (THAT'S THE QUESTION, "Entertainment Tonight") and Marianne Curan ("Landscapers' Challenge"), CAT-MINSTER will cover the 19th Annual CFA International Cat Show, one of the industry's most prestigious events, which featured 55 different breeds and over 700 cats from the U.S., Asia, Canada, Europe and South America competing in the largest international pedigreed cat show in the Western Hemisphere. The first hour of the special will offer viewers a rare glimpse inside the world of competitive cat shows, following five breeders training "prized" kittens and the preparation required to actually "show" a championship cat at the world's most prestigious competition.

The second hour of the competition will feature the championship itself, including the spectacular feline agility course, culminating with the awarding of top honor "Best in Show." Intricacies of the judging will be highlighted, with Goen and Curan providing commentary throughout the multiple rounds of the competition.

"Flip" (CFA's 2006 International Show Champion) is a Blue Persian spay co-owned by Susan Cook Henry of Warrenton, Virginia, and who comes from a family that has bred and shown "Jadon" Persians since the early 1960's. Cook Henry has bred more than 50 CFA Grand Champions and Grand Premiers. Flip had great success in the show ring as a kitten, earning "Kitten of the Year" honors in 2002. Flip's mother and grandfather also won the top Kitten award, making this family the only known successive generation winners of this title.

The special is being produced for GSN by Painless Entertainment, a production company that specializes in animal competitions. Jim Casey and Joe Carolei serve as executive producers.

"After producing successful dog shows for seven years, we stepped onto the cat show floor and instantly recognized that this was an untapped world long overdue for television exposure," said Casey. "You've got beautiful animals, colorful characters and heated competition -- it's the perfect recipe for compelling television."

GSN is the entertainment industry leader in multi-platform interactive game programs. GSN features challenging word games, high intensity casino programs, live participation shows, reality series and documentaries. Complementing the network, GSN.com features all types of game play: innovative Flash games, skill cash tournaments and downloadable games. The website also features GSN's two-screen interactive play-along for prime time shows. In more than 62 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.

CFA, Celebrating the centennial of its founding in 2006, the Cat Fanciers' Association is the world's largest registry of pedigreed cats with more than 1.5 million registered throughout the world. The CFA, a non-profit association of member clubs, is comprised of more than 650 clubs in North and South America, Europe and Asia. The association's mission is to preserve and promote the pedigreed breeds of cats and to enhance the well being of all cats. For more information, visit http://www.cfa.org.

Painless Productions, a full service production and post-production company, was founded in 1995 by Jim Casey and Joe Carolei. In addition to creating reality-based television projects for FOX, TLC and Travel Channel, Painless currently produces three series for Animal Planet, including the "Eukanuba Tournament of Champions" dog shows and the two-night, live simulcast of "The AKC/Eukanuba National Championship," also airing on The Discovery Channel.

-GSN '07-

SOURCE GSN
http://www.cfa.org http://corp.gsn.com http://www.gsn.com