TV Land Celebrates Family Day With Dinnertime Blackout on September 24

TV Land Celebrates Family Day With Dinnertime Blackout on September 24

Two-Hour Programming Salute Airs September 23

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 24 from 6pm to 7pm (ET/PT) to encourage families to dine together. Viewers tuning in to The Family Day Dinner Hour will see photos submitted to TVLand.com 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.

"This is the third time that TV Land has made this effort in support of CASA's* Family Day," states Larry W. Jones, President, TV Land. "CASA's studies have shown that the more often children eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs. It is our hope that everyone will use this day as a catalyst to dine together more frequently and enjoy the benefits that come from family dining."

To further promote Family Day, TV Land will air a two-hour block of classic family dinner-themed episodes of The Andy Griffith Show, Sanford & Son, and M*A*S*H on Sunday, September 23, from 8pm to 10pm (ET/PT).

The schedule for Sunday's CASA Family Night Marathon is as follows (all times listed are ET/PT):

8:00pm The Andy Griffith Show #206 - Dinner at Eight
Andy looks forward to eating a few snacks and spending an
evening alone in the house. Instead, he finds he must eat three
spaghetti dinners cooked by thoughtful friends.

8:30pm The Andy Griffith Show #210 - Aunt Bee's Restaurant
Aunt Bee has a brief fling as co-owner of a Chinese restaurant.

9:00pm Sanford & Son #22 - Jealousy
Invited to dinner at the Sanford home, Fred's fiancee Donna
brings along a patient who is in her care. The man, apparently
a healthy specimen, makes it obvious he thinks of Donna as more
than a nurse.

9:30pm M*A*S*H #59 - Adam's Ribs
Sick and tired of having liver and fish for an 11-day stretch,
Hawkeye, driven near to insanity, starts a riot in the mess
tent. He and Trapper order spare ribs and sauce from Chicago,
and Trapper calls a woman he spent a weekend with to pick them
up and chopper them in. Unfortunately, right as they're sitting
down to eat, wounded arrive, and Hawkeye is forced to postpone
sinking his teeth into his beloved ribs.

Family Day - A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children(TM), which was created by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in 2001, is a national effort designed to promote the benefits that come from the parental engagement fostered in families who frequently eat dinner together. More than a decade of CASA research has consistently shown that the more often children eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs. Together, CASA and The Family Table have set a goal of registering millions of Americans to pledge to have dinner as a family on September 24th and, hopefully, use Family Day as a catalyst to make family dinners a regular part of their lives. For more information about Family Day, visit www.CASAFamilyDay.org.

*The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University is neither affiliated with, nor sponsored by, the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (also known as "CASA") or any of its member organizations, or any other organizations with the name of "CASA".

TV Land's Family Table: Share More Than Meals was created in partnership with Nickelodeon's Nick at Nite in 2003 to remind 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 TV Land airs in regular rotation daily - the network encourages viewers to experience the benefits of dining together. For more information, please visit www.FamilyTable.info.

TV Land and all related logos and titles are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

Now seen in over 90 million U.S. homes, TV Land is dedicated to building the ultimate Baby Boomer entertainment brand on all platforms. Armed with a slate of new original programming, newly acquired Classic TV and movies, multiplatform content and Cause Change, a new pro-social initiative, the network is uniquely positioned to cater to America's 78 million Baby Boomers, the first generation of Americans who grew alongside television. TV Land's program mix features hit originals, popular dramas, sitcoms, westerns and Retromercials.

TV Land's roster includes hits like All in the Family, M*A*S*H, The Andy Griffith Show and several others. Furthering the network's commitment to develop original programming that complements its roster of acquisitions, the network regularly showcases original series and specials like I Pity The Fool, Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg, TV Land Myths and Legends, Generation Boom, TV Land Confidential and the upcoming original series High School Reunion.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 130 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services - MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 200 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: TV Land

CONTACT: Jennifer Zaldivar, +1-212-846-8964,
Jennifer.zaldivar@tvland.com, or Vanessa Reyes, +1-310-752-8081,
Vanessa.reyes@tvland.com, both of TV Land

Web site:

http://www.nick-at-nite.com/
http://www.casafamilyday.org/
http://www.familytable.info/

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