Comedy Legend National Lampoon Jumps Into Action Sports With Planet X

Comedy Legend National Lampoon Jumps Into Action Sports With Planet X

Weekly Series 'National Lampoon's Planet X' to Hit the Country this September

LOS ANGELES, April 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- National Lampoon Inc. (NASDAQ:NLPN.OB) is expanding into action sports with a major marketing, production and programming agreement with Planet X Television, a unit of San Diego based Planet X Entertainment Group, Inc. The National Lampoon/Planet X relationship will rename the existing nationally syndicated weekly series "Planet X" to signature TV series "National Lampoon's Planet X" that will take comedy and action sports to a whole new level. In addition to development of joint film, DVD and TV projects, a planned national college tour program for the Fall is also slated that will mix live comedy, music and action sports into a full day of activities for each stop.

The "Planet X" series, launched the same summer as the ESPN-Extreme Games (coined the "X Games" the following year), planted the extreme sports seed as the first branded "X" on national sports television. Over the years and with hundreds of episodes produced, the show has covered and provided all aspects of action/extreme sports, music, fashion, and lifestyle programming. "National Lampoon's Planet X" debuts September 1 in national syndication following its initial airing on the National Lampoon Network. The signature show will continue to air in markets in which the current show is cleared, including Los Angeles, Washington DC, Detroit and Kansas City in addition to its existing broadcast runs on Urban America Television Network and America One Television Network.

Planet X founder, D. Phillip Durban stated, "The mix of action sports, humorous athlete hosts and wild content has been our staple since the beginning. With the National Lampoon signature, we are now in the major league of comedy. In addition to the weekly series, we are reviewing hilarious script concepts for a wild feature film concept on action sports that will be worthy of the National Lampoon and Planet X brands."

Douglas S. Bennett, President of National Lampoon added, "We are well on our way of making National Lampoon the dominant leader of young adult media. The opportunity of working with Planet X was a natural for us. In keeping up with today's youth culture, it is important for us to be active in the multi-billion dollar action sports market."

Since early 1995, Planet X Television has been a worldwide leader and pioneer in action sports programming and special events. Many of the current hosts on ESPN, Fox Sports Net and the new Fuel network came from Planet X. "We seem to find the best action sports stars first," stated Meredythe Dee Winter, Co-Founder and Executive Producer of Planet X. "One of our best discoveries was Sal (Masekela) who is now the main host for the 'X Games'. Masekela hosted for Planet X during its 1995 and 1996 seasons on Prime Sports Channel (now Fox Sports Net). Another key Planet X host was Cindy Margolis who hosted the show during its 1998 season, which led up to her series on CBS, 'The Cindy Margolis Show'."

About National Lampoon:

National Lampoon (BULLETIN BOARD: NLPN) is and has been one of the leading brands in comedy for the last 30 years. National Lampoon is active in a broad array of entertainment activities, including feature films, television programming, interactive entertainment, home video, audio CD's and book publishing. The company also owns interests in all major National Lampoon properties including "National Lampoon's Animal House," the National Lampoon "Vacation" series, and "National Lampoon's Van Wilder." The new National Lampoon Network currently serves over 600 colleges and universities throughout the United States, including major institutions of higher learning both in and out of the Pac 10, Ivy League, and Big 10. The network reaches as many as 4.8 million students, or nearly one in four of all 18 to 24 year old college students. On this and other projects, National Lampoon is working with National Lampoon Network sponsor TalentMatch to identify talent for certain roles. In the 1970's and 80's, National Lampoon was the most widely read publication on college campuses, while today, the website, www.nationallampoon.com, is one of the most popular humor sites on the Internet.

About Planet X:

Planet X Television has been a staple on the action and extreme sports TV marketplace since early 1995 and has maintained its independent status as a pioneer in the multi-billion dollar action sports industry. In addition to its TV properties that air domestically and many markets worldwide, Planet X is making waves in the cable television industry with a new action sports cable channel offering at the National Cable Show in San Francisco.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on the Company's current expectations, forecasts and assumptions. In some cases forward-looking statements may be identified by forward-looking words like "would," "intend," "hope," "will," "may," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "continue," or similar words. Forward- looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from the Company's expectations, forecasts and assumptions. These risks and uncertainties include risks and uncertainties not in the control of the Company, including, without limitation, the current economic climate in the United States and other risks and uncertainties, including those enumerated and described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, whose filings are available on the SEC's website at sec.gov. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Source: National Lampoon Inc.

CONTACT: Allison McGuire Young, amcguire@bwr-la.com, or George Cabico, gcabico@bwr-la.com of B|W|R Public Relations, +1-310-550-7776, for National Lampoon; or Meredythe Dee Winter of Planet X Television, +1-310-415-0054

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

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