Ellen DeGeneres Partners with HGTV on New Design Competition Series

Show from Telepictures, DeGeneres' A Very Good Production and A. Smith & Co. to Debut in 2015

NEW YORK -- Television icon and entertainment pioneer Ellen DeGeneres will executive produce a six-episode design competition series for HGTV - her first on cable television. Produced by Ellen's production company, A Very Good Production, and A. Smith & Co. in association with Telepictures, Ellen's Design Challenge is scheduled to premiere in 2015 and will feature six competitors as they tackle ingenious challenges to sketch, design and build extraordinary furniture in just 24 hours. Throughout the series, the contestants must showcase their creativity and versatility to impress a panel of judges. The last one standing will win a cash prize.

"I'm so excited about this show because I love finding really special pieces of furniture," said DeGeneres. "One time I found a beautiful one-of-a-kind armoire that spoke to me in a way I'd never experienced. It turned out there was a drifter living inside of it, but that's a story for another time."

During the series, the competitors will face design challenges that will keep them on their toes and, since the clock will be ticking, they will be paired with an expert carpenter to help them complete the task at hand. The series will highlight Ellen's passion for furniture and house design as well as her expertise in the subject. In addition, there will be a six-part online companion series that will invite visitors to participate in another side of the competition and get to know the designers even better.

"There has been a lot of dancing in our halls since we shared that we will be collaborating with Ellen," said Kathleen Finch, president, HGTV and DIY Network. "When she talked to us about her love of buying and renovating homes, her personal passion for the creative process of furniture design emerged as something that she wanted to explore more. Since HGTV is the ultimate forum in this space, and since no other network can deliver an audience who is as enthusiastic as she is about the creative process, we just had to make it happen."

Executive producers for the series are Ellen, Jeff Kleeman of A Very Good Production, and Arthur Smith, Kent Weed and Jay Bienstock of A. Smith & Co.

ABOUT TELEPICTURES

Telepictures is an industry-leading and Emmy(R) Award-winning producer of innovative, multiplatform advertiser-friendly television series and digital content for the first-run syndication, cable and digital marketplace. Programs produced by Telepictures have won 77 Emmy(R) Awards in the last 17 years, including Outstanding Talk Show or Outstanding Talk Show Host for 14 of the last 16 years. For the current 2013-14 season, Telepictures is producing the following series: The Ellen DeGeneres Show, bethenny, TMZ, TMZ Live, Extra, Judge Mathis, The People's Court and Let's Ask America. #CandidlyNicole debuts July 17 on VH1, The Keke Palmer Project (working title) will bow in summer 2014 for an initial four-week run on BET, and talk show The Real will launch in national syndication in fall 2014. For more information about Telepictures programming, please visit www.telepicturestv.com.

ABOUT A VERY GOOD PRODUCTION

A Very Good Production (AVGP) is the Emmy(R)-winning television and film production company of producer/writer/actor/host Ellen DeGeneres. Based at Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG) with an exclusive multiyear deal, AVGP produces the nationally syndicated daytime talk program The Ellen DeGeneres Show and develops television projects for all divisions of WBTVG, including scripted and primetime series, as well as additional syndicated fare. AVGP's current slate of projects includes the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment original movie Sophia Grace & Rosie's Royal Adventure, to be released on May 20, 2014, as well as Ellen's Design Challenge, a new design competition program for HGTV, scheduled to debut in 2015. In addition, AVGP's film projects include Sing You Home, based on the Jodi Picoult novel, and an untitled feature starring DeGeneres and Rebel Wilson. Jeff Kleeman serves as President of A Very Good Production.

ABOUT A. SMITH & CO

A. Smith & Co. Productions creates some of the most innovative, highly rated and high-quality programming for the domestic and international television marketplace. The company has produced more than 2,000 hours of award-winning programming. Current productions include such hits as Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, American Ninja Warrior, Unsung, Full Throttle Saloon, Burns BBQ, Celebrity Crime Files, Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura, Too Young to Marry?, Save Our Business, UFC Countdown, Joe Rogan Questions Everything, Divorce Hotel and many others. A. Smith & Co.'s library of programming includes hit shows such as Paradise Hotel, I Survived a Japanese Game Show, The Swan, Trading Spaces, Pros vs. Joes and Skating with Celebrities. A. Smith & Co. has developed and produced the No. 1 show in America 25 times and a Top 10 show more than 200 times, producing programs with budgets totaling approximately one billion dollars for more than 42 broadcast and cable networks.

ABOUT HGTV

America's leading home and lifestyle brand, HGTV features a top-rated cable network that is distributed to more than 98 million U.S. households and the HGTV website, HGTV.com, the nation's leading online home-and-garden destination that attracts an average of four million unique visitors per month. The brand also includes the HGTV HOME(TM) consumer products line which showcases exclusive collections of paint, flooring, lighting, furniture, plants, fabrics and other home-oriented products. In partnership with Hearst Magazines, the HGTV Magazine, a home and lifestyle publication, is currently available on newsstands. Viewers can become fans of HGTV and interact with other home improvement enthusiasts through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., HGTV is wholly owned by Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI).