Kelly Ripa Named Host of the Fifth Annual TV Land Awards

Ninety Minute Special from Santa Monica's Barker Hangar Honors the Best and Brightest from the History of Television

NEW YORK, Jan. 31 -- TV Land today announced that Kelly Ripa, actress and co-host of the popular syndicated morning talk show LIVE with Regis and Kelly, will serve as host at the fifth annual TV Land Awards. The show will tape on Saturday, April 14, 2007 at The Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, CA before premiering on TV Land on Wednesday, April 25 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The announcement was made today by Larry W. Jones, President, TV Land.

The TV Land Awards is the network's fifth annual salute to Classic TV stars, shows and the individuals whose work has endured the test of time. Several awards will be bestowed upon some of television's legendary series' and stars, which the network will announce in the coming weeks. Throughout the ninety minute telecast, TV Land will feature dozens of celebrated past and present TV performers as well as musical tributes, show parodies and reunions of some of the most iconic casts from televisions' most beloved shows.

"Kelly Ripa's high energy, vitality and passion for television make her the perfect host of this year's TV Land Awards," states Larry W. Jones. "She is a great talent and her personality is sure to resonate with our audience."

Since 2001, Kelly Ripa has been co-host of the popular morning syndicated talk show LIVE with Regis and Kelly. In her past five years hosting with Regis Philbin, she has received three Daytime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Talk Show Host. The show has been nominated for three Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Talk Show and has received two TV Guide Award nominations for Favorite Daytime Talk Show.

Ripa starred as Hayley Vaughan in a 12-year stint on ABC's All My Children, where she won three Soap Opera Digest Awards -- two for Outstanding Younger Lead Actress and one for Hottest Romance, which she shared with her real-life husband and co-star, actor Mark Consuelos. Ripa also received three Daytime Emmy nominations, two for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and one for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series. Additional television credits include her starring role on ABC's Hope and Faith, a recurring role on the hit NBC series Ed as well as the telefilms Someone to Love and It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. Ripa also co-starred in the acclaimed Miramax feature Marvin's Room in 1996. In 1999, she won the Best Actress award at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival for her work in The Stand-In. In 2001, Ripa was among People Magazine's "25 Most Intriguing People" and E! Entertainment's "Top 20 Entertainers of the Year."

Michael Levitt (Knots Landing Reunion: Together Again, TV Land Awards 2003-2006, Happy Days: 30th Anniversary Reunion) serves as Executive Producer, Emmy-award winning Glenn Weiss as Director (The Miss Teen USA Pageant 2005, BET Awards 2005, The 59th Annual Tony Awards 2005), Greg Sills as Supervising Producer (Knots Landing Reunion: Together Again, The Teen Choice Awards 2005, Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2005) and TV Land's Sal Maniaci and Larry W. Jones also serve as Executive Producers.

TV Land and all related logos and titles are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

Now seen in over 88 million U.S. homes, TV Land is a division of MTV Networks. TV Land's program mix features original programming, popular dramas, sitcoms, westerns, Retromercials and a TV-referential interstitial environment, all programmed to superserve Baby Boomers -- the first generation of Americans to grow up watching television. TV Land Productions was created in 2003 to develop original programming that complements the network's successful acquired programming slate. TV Land Productions has produced The TV Land Awards Show (March 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006) and Chasing Farrah (Spring 2005). In 2006, TV Land premiered several original productions including Generation Boom, I Pity The Fool starring Mr. T and Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg. The network features all-time Classic hits like All in the Family, M*A*S*H, I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show and Bonanza.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 130 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services - MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 200 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

SOURCE TV Land
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