PBS Introduces Its First Cross-Country Competition Series "MARKET WARS" (working title) Coming Summer/Fall 2012

- New 20-Episode Series From the Producers of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW (R) -

PASADENA, CA; January 4, 2012 - PBS today unveiled a new competition series from the producers of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW: MARKET WARS (w.t.), a 20-episode series, airing summer/fall 2012, that gives audiences a lesson in the bare-knuckles business of scoring a bargain. In each one-hour episode, professional antiques dealers put their reputations on the line - as they're pitted against the clock, a budget and each other - and embark on nationwide treasure hunts, scouring flea markets and antiques shops for vintage valuables. The goal: to score the biggest profit in each show's final auction segment.

"ANTIQUES ROADSHOW has been the leader in the popular antiques and collectibles genre for a long time," said Marsha Bemko, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW executive producer. "MARKET WARS turns its lens on the antiques experts themselves and the real, rough-and-tumble competition they face in the marketplace."

In each episode, four antiques professionals compete head-to-head, foraging for items and taking them to auction. MARKET WARS follows the experts on their pursuits, highlighting the marvels that different areas of the country can offer the intrepid antiques hunter. The expert who makes the highest total profit at auction in each episode is named the winner, earning bragging rights for toppling his peers. With affectionate humor, MARKET WARS follows the combatants, gleaning the best tactics from the battlefield and arming viewers to pursue their own successful treasure hunts.

"PBS continues to implement our primetime strategy to bring viewers new shows paired with other like-minded content," said John F. Wilson, senior vice president & chief TV programming executive. "We've had great success pairing natural history and science programming on Wednesday nights. We're confident that pairing MARKET WARS and ANTIQUES ROADSHOW will even more firmly anchor Monday nights as a popular viewing destination for exploration and history."

About WGBH

WGBH Boston is the largest producer of PBS content for TV and the Web, including Antiques Roadshow (PBS's most-watched program), Masterpiece, Nova, Frontline, American Experience, Arthur, Curious George (the No. 1 show on TV for preschoolers), Martha Speaks and other signature programs "produced in Boston, shared with the world" and enjoyed on platforms from televisions to tablets to mobile devices. WGBH also is a major source of programs for public radio (including The World), a leader in educational multimedia (including PBS LearningMedia, a free online service providing the nation's educators with curriculum-based digital content to meet 21st-century learners' needs), and a pioneer in technologies and services that make media accessible to the 36 million Americans who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired. WGBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys, Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards�even two Oscars. Find more information at www.wgbh.org.

About PBS

PBS, with its nearly 360 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches 124 million people through television and 20 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS' broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry's most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn to PBS for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. PBS' premier children's TV programming and its website, pbskids.org, are parents' and teachers' most trusted partners in inspiring and nurturing curiosity and love of learning in children. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the Internet, or by following PBS on Twitter, Facebook or through our apps for mobile devices.