And The Critics' Choice Awards Show Goes to ... VH1

The Broadcast Film Critics Association's 'Critics' Choice Awards' Honors VH1 With a 3-Year Deal

The First Major Awards Show of the Season Will Air Live From the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on VH1, Monday, January 7, 2008

LOS ANGELES, May 21 -- The Broadcast Film Critics Association's (BFCA) "Critics' Choice Awards" show will make VH1 its new television network home with an exclusive three-year deal. The awards are bestowed annually by the BFCA to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. VH1 will air the 13th annual "Critics' Choice Awards" gala live from the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on Monday, January 7, 2008.

Since its inception in 1995, the "Critics' Choice Awards" has become a star-studded bellwether event of the movie awards season. The BFCA consistently picks nominees and winners that go on to garner more Academy Award nominations and wins than any other of the movie awards shows.

In 2007 alone, the "Critics' Choice Awards" foretold 30 of the 35 nominees and six of the seven Oscar(R) winners in the top seven categories including best picture, acting, directing, and writing. In addition, since 1999 the BFCA has correctly chosen 43 of 45 Academy Award nominated movies in the Best Picture category and this year was the only major film critics group to name "The Departed" (the 2007 Oscar(R) winner) as Best Picture.

The "Critics' Choice Awards" is the first major award show of the year and the only one to air before the Oscar(R) nomination ballots are mailed in. With its history of picking nominees and winners, it provides television viewers with their first opportunity to see all the top awards season contenders in one place.

The "Critics' Choice Awards" is always a hot ticket event for entertainment A-listers. Attending the show in 2007 was a who's who of Hollywood including: Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Forest Whitaker, Helen Mirren, Alan Arkin, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, Ryan Gosling, Kate Winslet, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Penelope Cruz, Spike Lee, Jessica Biel, Sacha Baron Cohen and Dakota Fanning.

The Broadcast Film Critics Association is the largest film critics' organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 200 television, radio and online critics. BFCA members are the primary source of information for today's film going public. The very first opinion a moviegoer hears about new releases at the multiplex or the art house usually comes from one of its members.

"The VH1 audience has a ravenous appetite for pop culture, especially films and the A-list names that appear in them. Our viewers will welcome the annual Critics' Choice Awards ceremony which is the first, must-attend event of Hollywood's award season," said Tom Calderone, EVP and General Manager, VH1. "We are honored to have the BFCA join the VH1 family and hope to be able to add our creative stamp to the show."

"VH1 is a window onto the pop culture landscape that the Broadcast Film Critics Association reports on, making this an ideal network home for our show," stated Joey Berlin, President of the BFCA. "We are thrilled to have VH1 host our awards show and look forward to growing with the network."

VH1 will expand elements of the show online at VH1.com and on VH1 Mobile. Exclusive video footage from the event will include celebrity interviews, "behind-the-scenes" footage and more. Additional multiplatform plans will be announced closer to the event.

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 90 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul and VSPOT, VH1's broadband channel. Connect with VH1 at http://www.VH1.com.

SOURCE VH1
http://www.vh1.com