Don't Tune-In to TV Land on September 25 at 6 p.m. (ET/PT)

Don't Tune-In to TV Land on September 25 at 6 p.m. (ET/PT)

Classic TV Network Pre-Empts Regular Programming to Encourage Families to Eat Dinner Together on Family Day(TM)

NEW YORK, Sept. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its commitment to Family Day -- A Day To Eat Dinner With Your Children(TM), TV Land will pre-empt regularly-scheduled programming and "go dark" on September 25, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. (ET/PT) to encourage families to dine together. Over the last several months, people committed to eating together on Family Day have been registering participation at http://www.familytable.info/ for their family, friends and loved ones. The Family Day Dinner Hour will feature photos submitted to the website of various families sharing meals and spending time together. Packaged like a scrapbook, the hour will display montages of the photos along with Family Day graphics, all set to easy-listening Americana and Jazz music.

Findings from a new report released on September 19th by CASA and sponsored by TV Land and Nick at Nite's Family Table -- The Importance of Family Dinners III -- reveals that teens who have dinner together less than three nights a week are more likely to have tried alcohol, tobacco and marijuana. The study also reveals that the amount of dinners parents share with their kids has a direct link to parental engagement and their relationship with their teen, how well they know the parents of their teen's friends, and the names of the children's teachers.

"Pre-empting TV Land's normal programming schedule is a symbolic gesture on our part to remind families of the importance of eating dinner together and sharing more than just meals at the table," states Larry W. Jones, President, TV Land and Nick at Nite. "Supporting Family Day was a natural fit for us and is just one part of TV Land and Nick at Nite's overall commitment to furthering our viewers' education on the importance of family dinners."

TV Land and Nick at Nite's Family Table: Share More Than Meals -- Classic TV's very first pro-social initiative -- has teamed up with The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University to encourage Americans to register to pledge to have dinner as a family on September 25th and, hopefully, use Family Day as a catalyst to make family dinners a regular part of their lives. CASA's Family Day, which was created in 2001, is a national effort designed to promote the benefits that come from families dining together on a consistent basis.

TV Land & Nick at Nite's Family Table was created by the two networks in 2003 and seeks to remind its viewers about the emotional and social benefits that come from taking the time to sit down and share with one another. Through a series of promotional spots -- which both networks air in regular rotation daily -- TV Land and Nick at Nite have committed over $11 million in on-air time annually to encourage viewers to experience the benefits of dining together.

TV Land, Nick at Nite and all related logos and titles are trademarks of Viacom International, Inc.

Now seen in over 87 million U.S. homes, TV Land's program mix features popular dramas, sitcoms, westerns, Retromercials and a TV-referential interstitial environment, all programmed with a specific audience in mind -- the first generation of Americans to grow up watching television and features all-time Classic hits like All in the Family, I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, and Bonanza.

Currently seen in more than 88 million U.S. homes, Nick at Nite features timeless hit comedies: The Cosby Show -- this Emmy Award-winning sitcom is one of the network's highest-rated shows: Full House -- this popular family comedy launched on the network in October and is one of the highest-rated and most popular syndicated programs in television; and Roseanne, one of the most talk- about and celebrated sitcoms in television history.

MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:VIA.B), owns and operates the following television programming services -- MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, mtvU, VHI, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, MTV INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 12 digital services, all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

About Viacom

Viacom is a leading global entertainment content company, with prominent and respected brands in focused demographics. Offering programming and content for television, motion pictures and digital platforms, Viacom's world- class brands include MTV Networks (MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Comedy Central, CMT: Country Music Television, Spike TV, TV Land, Logo and more than 130 networks around the world), BET Networks, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Home Entertainment, DreamWorks and Famous Music. More information about Viacom and its businesses is available at http://www.viacom.com/.

Source: TV Land

CONTACT: Rachel Sandler, +1-212-846-4412, Rachel.Sandler@tvland.com, or
Vanessa Reyes-Smith, +1-310-752-8081, Vanessa.Reyes@tvland.com, both of TV
Land & Nick at Nite

Web site: http://www.nick-at-nite.com/

-------
Profile: intent