Mark Burnett Team to Produce Fifth Season of HGTV Design Star

Knoxville, Tenn. [For Immediate Release--December 3, 2009] -- HGTV has signed Mark Burnett, executive producer of reality competitions such as Survivor and The Apprentice, and his production team to produce season five of the hit primetime series HGTV Design Star. Viewers and online users who want to be considered for the show can visit http://hgtv.com/designstar to find out how to apply. Submissions must be postmarked by Tuesday, January 19, 2010.

"The Mark Burnett team is extremely creative and talented -- masters at crafting entertaining reality programming," said Freddy James, senior vice president, programming development and production, HGTV. "We expect that they will infuse HGTV Design Star with fresh perspectives and innovative ideas that will serve as a blueprint for a successful fifth season."

With Burnett on board, the casting and production for the series are expected to move quickly. "We are thrilled to have our first program with HGTV and the Scripps family of networks," said Mark Burnett, "We look forward to rolling up our sleeves and making HGTV Design Star even bigger, better, and more exciting than it has been in seasons past."

Fans of the top-rated program, which follows a new crop of architects, artists, interior designers/decorators and design enthusiasts as they navigate difficult design challenges to win their own show on HGTV, have been eagerly anticipating the next opportunity to participate in the design competition. Previous HGTV Design Star winners include popular hosts David Bromstad and Kim Myles as well as season four winner Antonio Ballatore. Ballatore is currently in production for his new series, The Antonio Treatment, which premieres in March 2010.

About HGTV

HGTV, America's leader in home and lifestyle programming, is distributed to more than 98 million U.S. households and is one of cable's top-rated networks. HGTV's website, HGTV.com, is the nation's leading online home-and-garden destination, which attracts an average of more than 4 million unique visitors per month. For more information, visit www.HGTV.com .

About Mark Burnett

Mark Burnett is a leading executive producer for primetime television, cable and the Internet, and has produced over 1,100 hours of television programming which regularly air in over 70 countries around the world. Burnett has revolutionized television with continuing hits such as Survivor (CBS), The Apprentice (NBC), the now syndicated Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (FOX), which is currently being produced in 55 countries, the daytime syndicated hit Martha, and the new hit series Shark Tank (ABC); giving Mark different series on each of the four major networks.

Burnett has garnered other current hit cable series in 2009 with Bully Beatdown (MTV), StarMaker (MTV), and How'd You Get So Rich (TV Land). In the summers of 2007, 2008, and 2009, Burnett entered the world of award shows, when he served as executive producer for the MTV Movie Awards. Additionally, Mark is on board to produce the 36th annual People's Choice Awards which will air on CBS in January of 2010. Since 2001, Burnett shows have garnered a total of 60 Emmy nominations including two wins for best reality series, along with four People's Choice Awards, also for favorite reality series. Burnett has been named one of the most influential people in the world by TIME magazine and named TV Guide's most valuable player. He has won BRANDWEEK'S Marketer of the Year Award, The Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award, and the prestigious ROSE D'OR FRAPA Format Award. In 2007, Burnett was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame. In July of 2009, Burnett was honored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce with a star on the Hollywood walk of fame.