Sleuth press release from last week
SLEUTH HEATS UP THIS SUMMER WITH DIRECTV
LAUNCH TODAY
Crime, Mystery Channel Now Available to More than
15 Million DIRECTV Customers
Englewood Cliffs, NJ - June 1, 2006 - Sleuth, NBC Universal Cable Entertainment's crime, mystery and suspense network debuts today on DIRECTV and will be available to its more than 15 million customers. The announcement was made today by David Zaslav, President, NBC Universal Cable and Domestic TV and New Media Distribution and Jeff Gaspin, President, NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, Digital Content & Cross-Network Strategy.
"We couldn't be more excited about our carriage deal for Sleuth with DIRECTV and we value them as a partner in launching our new services and products that help increase subscribers and drive their business," commented Zaslav. "Sleuth has generated tremendous momentum since its launch earlier this year and continues to gain interest from distributors and fans of the popular crime/mystery genre."
"The success of Sleuth proves the continued popularity and strength of the mystery/crime genre," said Gaspin. "We're pleased that DIRECTV will be giving more viewers the chance to catch up on their favorite shows."
"You don't have to be a clever detective to figure out that this network will generate a huge following among our customers," said Dan Fawcett, Executive Vice President, Programming, DIRECTV, Inc. "We're delighted to launch Sleuth and kick off another great summer season of programming from NBC."
The network will be available in the DIRECTV TOTAL CHOICE programming package on viewer channel 308.
Previously, DIRECTV and NBCUC reached a multi-year agreement that will give the primetime on demand rights to NBC Universal TV programs, and on pay-per-view (PPV) in addition to deals in place for their other networks, including USA, SCI FI, CNBC and MSNBC among others.
"We're thrilled about our programming line-up this summer and DIRECTV is launching Sleuth just in time for viewers to catch all of the adventures from destination weekends and Sleuth stakeouts to murder mysteries on Mondays," said Dan Harrison, Senior Vice President, Emerging Networks for NBC Universal Cable Entertainment.
In June, Sleuth has every day of the week covered from Murder Mondays and Action Wednesdays to Sleuth Summer Vacation weekends. Sleuth kicks off the month by celebrating Mark Wahlberg's 35th birthday with a look back at his break out role as the bad boy after Reese Witherspoon's heart in "Fear" on June 2 followed by the 2002 remake of the spy thriller "The Truth About Charlie," June 3.
Jet set this summer with globetrotting adventures every weekend from London and Moscow to New York and Las Vegas. Beginning June 9, Sleuth will take viewers on a European Vacation featuring films like "The Black Windmill," starring Michael Cain as a British agent who takes matters into his own hands by tracking down his kidnapped son. Additional films include "The Ripper," "Fierce Creatures," "The Champagne Murders," and international thriller "The Jackal" with Bruce Willis and Richard Gere.
Travel back to the U.S. on Las Vegas Night on June 17 with "Casino" and Las Vegas themed episodes from "Knight Rider," "The A-Team" and "Miami Vice." June 23 and 24 is Sleuth's New York Stakeout marathon with "Coogan's Bluff" starring Clint Eastwood as a straightforward Arizona lawman sent to New York City to extradite a captured murderer and Sylvester Stallone attempts to rescue commuters in a collapsed tunnel in "Daylight."
Mondays at 9pm and 12am (ET) is Sleuth Murder Mondays showcasing a variety of murder mysteries including "Coopersmith," "Marked for Murder," "Profile for Murder," "The Chippendale's Murder," "The Public Eye," "Ghost Story," and "Dead in the Water." And Wednesdays are Sleuth Action Wednesdays at 9pm and 12am (ET) featuring "The Real McCoy," "Thick as Thieves," "Renegades," "Singapore Sling," "Wild Card," "The Take," "Birds II," and "The Last Hit."
About SLEUTH
SLEUTH, an NBC Universal Cable digital suite of networks launched in first quarter 2006, is the premier entertainment cable channel dedicated to the popular crime/mystery/suspense genre, 24/7. SLEUTH features exclusive crime and mystery programming from NBC Universal's extensive collection of feature films, classic television shows, reality series and documentaries, from "Miami Vice" and "Homicide" to "Scarface" and "Casino." The unique Sleuth digital suite will include video on demand (VOD) content and a high-definition (HD) simulcast. To uncover more, visit:
www.sleuthchannel.com <http://www.sleuthchannel.com/>.
About DIRECTV, Inc.
DIRECTV, Inc. is the nation's leading digital television service provider with more than 15.4 million customers. DIRECTV and the Cyclone Design logo are registered trademarks of DIRECTV, Inc. DIRECTV (NYSE
TV) is a world-leading provider of digital multichannel television entertainment. DIRECTV is approximately 37 percent owned by News Corporation.
About NBC Universal Cable
NBC Universal Cable, a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's preeminent media companies, drives the company's cable strategic development and growth including video-on-demand, pay-per-view, HDTV, TV EST (electronic sell-through), TV Wireless distribution and retransmission consent, and oversees the cable distribution, marketing and local ad sales of fourteen properties (Bravo, CNBC, CNBC World, MSNBC, mun2, NBC Weather Plus, SCI FI, ShopNBC, Sleuth, Telemundo, Telemundo Puerto Rico, Universal HD, USA and the Olympics on cable). NBC Universal Cable also directs and manages the company's cable and new media investments including A&E, The History Channel, History Channel International, The Biography Channel, National Geographic International, the Sundance Channel and Tivo.
# # #
vanthan.khel@nbcuni.com <mailto:vanthan.khel@nbcuni.com>
Robert Mercer
DIRECTV, Inc.
(310) 726-4683
rgmercer@directv.com <mailto:rgmercer@directv.com>
Vicki Lang
Affiliate Sales Coordinator/Satellite Migration
NBC Universal Cable Networks
201-735-3587
vicki.lang@nbcuni.com
