New Showtime Subscribers Treated to a Year of Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream

New Showtime Subscribers Treated to a Year of Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream

Premium TV and Superpremium Ice Cream: The Perfect Indulgence

NEW YORK, July 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Beginning in October, new SHOWTIME subscribers will get a really sweet deal - a year of Haagen-Dazs(R) superpremium ice cream. The network is teaming up with the ice-cream maker to bring viewers the perfect evening at home - combining the best in premium television with the best premium ice cream. When new subscribers sign up for SHOWTIME and submit three monthly cable or satellite bills, they'll receive a book of coupons good for 12 pints of Haagen-Dazs ice cream - a pint a month for a year.

"These two brands represent quality, indulgence and escape," said Rick King Showtime VP of Promotions and Partnership Marketing. "It's a perfect fit."

Ice cream is not only ranked among the top foods that people enjoy eating while watching television, its wide appeal crosses all demographics including age and gender.

"Almost everyone loves ice cream, so we felt this campaign would appeal to even the most difficult to reach consumer," said King. "Our marketing research suggested that people view Haagen-Dazs as a top quality brand and would be very likely to take advantage of this unique promotional offer."

The timing was also right. Because the brand is viewed as a holiday treat, Haagen-Dazs sales spike in November and December, during the height of the SHOWTIME fourth quarter acquisition campaign.

"This alliance celebrates a shared occasion -- eating Haagen-Dazs ice cream while watching SHOWTIME," says Dave Ritterbush, VP of Marketing for Haagen-Dazs. "It's a classic combination."

Showtime Networks will support the acquisition campaign through cross channel acquisition spots to run on cable and satellite systems. The campaign will also be supported through customizable direct mail and electronically with banners and customizable HTML emails.

Crafted in 1961 by Reuben Mattus in his family's dairy, Haagen-Dazs is the original superpremium ice cream. True to its tradition, Haagen-Dazs is committed to using only the purest ingredients in crafting the world's finest ice cream. Truly made like no other, today Haagen-Dazs offers a full range of products from ice cream to sorbet, frozen yogurt and frozen snacks in more than 65 different flavors. Haagen-Dazs products are available around the globe for ice cream lovers to enjoy. For more information on the company, visit www.haagen-dazs.com.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc., owns the premium television networks SHOWTIME(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) and FLIX(R), as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME(R) TOO(TM), SHOWTIME(R) SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME(R), SHOWTIME BEYOND(R), SHOWTIME NEXT(R), SHOWTIME WOMEN(R), SHOWTIME FAMILYZONE(R) and TMC xtra. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD(R), SHOWTIME ON DEMAND(R) and THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND(TM). SNI operates and manages the premium television network SUNDANCE CHANNEL(R), which is a venture between NBC Universal, Robert Redford, and Showtime Networks Inc. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME(R) PPV. Additionally, the advertiser-supported television network SHOWTIME is available in Turkey through a joint venture with UK-based Zone Vision.

Source: Showtime Networks

CONTACT: Brooks Jewell of Showtime, +1-212-708-1380, or brooks.jewell@showtime.net

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

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