VH1'S Weekly 'Top 20 Video Countdown' Boasts a New Set, New Look, New Platform and New Host

VH1'S Weekly 'Top 20 Video Countdown' Boasts a New Set, New Look, New Platform and New Host

MATT PINFIELD TO HOST THE NEW WEEKLY "VSPOT TOP 20 VIDEO COUNTDOWN," PREMIERING FRIDAY, APRIL 7 AT 6 PM*

Natasha Bedingfield, Pink and Shakira to Appear and Kick Off The First Episode of the New Countdown

NEW YORK, March 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The viewers and VH1's broadband channel VSPOT (http://vspot.vh1.com/) are taking over VH1's weekly countdown series with the new interactive "VSPOT Top 20 Video Countdown" premiering Friday, April 7 at 6 PM.* The two-hour program will continue to count down the most popular VH1 videos of the week, but now the countdown will be chosen online by the viewers. "VSPOT Top 20 Video Countdown," airs Fridays at 6 PM.*

Former VJ and music veteran Matt Pinfield will host the new countdown and will welcome musical and celebrity guests to the show's new set in the center of New York City's Times Square.

In addition to choosing the videos, viewers will be brought closer to the music they love through several interactive elements of "VSPOT Top 20 Video Countdown."

Beginning March 31, viewers can log on to http://top20.vh1.com/ and rank their top 20 video picks to help determine what videos make it on the on-air countdown. Individuals' video picks will be saved in the viewer's VSPOT play list, which they can then view and listen to. Throughout the entire week, VH1.com will track the videos through a graphical "hot," "cold," and "warm" ranking system, giving viewers a sense for what videos are hot and which are not. Viewers can mix, rank, and enter their top 20 wish list as many times as they like each week.

VSPOT and VH1 Mobile Contests

"VSPOT Top 20 Video Countdown" will launch a weekly "match and win" viewer contest. Viewers who match their ranking to the weekly on-air countdown will be entered into a drawing where 20 lucky winners will win a prize. Additionally, each weekly winner will automatically be entered into a semi-annual grand prize giveaway.

To enter the "match and win" competition, visit the "VSPOT Top 20 Countdown" page at http://top20.vh1.com/. The submission period begins Friday, March 31 at 8 PM.* The deadline for submissions is every Friday at 8 AM* beginning Friday, April 7 at 8 AM.*

Viewers can also participate in the show through VH1 Mobile's "VSPOT Top 20: Fact or Fiction." Those who answer questions asked on-air correctly via their mobile phones will be entered into a semi-annual grand prize drawing. For more information log on to http://trivia.vh1.com/.

Additional airings of "VSPOT Top 20 Video Countdown" occur every week at the following times: Saturdays, 3:00 AM, Saturdays, 9:00 AM, Sundays, 8:00 AM, and Tuesdays, 9:00 AM.

"VSPOT Top 20 Video Countdown", is a production of VH1; Executive Produced by Rick Hankey, Shelly Tatro and Michael Hirschorn.

About Matt Pinfield:

From the day he was born, Matt Pinfield always knew we wanted to be around music. In 1995, he became the permanent host of the influential MTV show "120 Minutes". Within a year, he became a staple on MTV, hosting a variety of shows-including "Mattrock", "Pinfield Suite," "Pinfield Presents", "Rocks Off", "Say What," "MTV Live" and well over 100 various specials. His reputation as a venerable walking encyclopedia of music knowledge made the "Stump Matt" segments on TRL a regular feature. Matt was also the first VJ to host music hours on MTV2, and helped position and develop the channel in its infancy.

In the past couple of years, Matt was chosen by both U2 and The Rolling Stones to host their most recent worldwide radio world premieres. After nearly 5 years, Matt recently exited his position as Vice President of A & R and Artist Development for Columbia Records where he signed and made records with Gold and Platinum recording artists Coheed & Cambria, and Crossfade, and is excited to be joining VH1.

* All Times ET/PT

Contact: Erica Cantwell Luis Defrank
212-846-3683 212-846-7012

Source: VH1

CONTACT: Erica Cantwell, +1-212-846-3683, or Luis Defrank,
+1-212-846-7012

Web site: http://www.vh1.com/

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