USA TODAY LIVE Enters Television Production Business

USA TODAY LIVE Enters Television Production Business

First Agreement Signed With HDNet to Produce 'Debate' Program

MCLEAN, Va., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- USA TODAY LIVE, the television arm of USA TODAY, is entering into satellite and cable television production. LIVE will produce television segments and programs based on USA TODAY editorial content.

The first program to be produced will be "Debate" on HDNet. Debate will be a new weekly primetime television program produced by USA TODAY and aired on HDNet. On the program, newsmakers and celebrities will represent opposite sides of controversial topics and engage in lively and enlightening discussion. Programs topics will include highly charged topics such as abortion, stem-cell research and the death penalty. Debate will air weekly on HDNet beginning in October.

Content and topics for Debate are chosen from the editorial pages of USA TODAY. The show will feature Lauren Ashburn, managing editor and anchor for USA TODAY LIVE, as the host and moderator with USA TODAY reporters and editors offering journalistic expertise on selected topics. USA TODAY's reader editor Brent Jones will present feedback on the selected topic from viewers and readers each week.

"This venture by USA TODAY LIVE provides another opportunity to deliver our content to the television viewing public. The show's content makes for a natural fit for television," said USA TODAY president and publisher Craig Moon.

"Debate is the first show on USA TODAY LIVE's production schedule and we are thrilled to partner with HDNet on the program. The editorial pages of USA TODAY are rife with story ideas for this program. We look forward to Debate's premiere in October," said Ashburn.

"We are excited to have HDNet as the home for Debate. Lauren Ashburn takes on every controversial subject facing our country today and never backs down. Debate brings out the best and worst of people on both sides of the issues. USA TODAY LIVE has done an amazing job," said Mark Cuban, chairman and president of HDNet.

USA TODAY LIVE also produces various news segments that include a daily live morning segment that airs on Gannett television stations that reach 17% of American homes, a daily Business Connection segment for the Weather Channel that airs five times a day, and USATODAY.com video headlines. Additionally, LIVE offers production services to non-Gannett television stations for origination of live or taped interviews with USA TODAY staff.

HDNet is available to approximately 60 million homes. The network launched in 2001 and includes up to 20 hours of original features each week, all produced in the highest quality 1080i HD -- more original high-definition programming that any other network.

For more information on Debate, please log on to http://www.usatoday.com/debate.

USA TODAY is the nation's top-selling newspaper. It is published via satellite at 36 locations in the USA and at four sites abroad. With a total average daily circulation of 2.3 million, USA TODAY is available worldwide. USA TODAY is published by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI). The USA TODAY brand also includes: USA TODAY Sports Weekly, a magazine for enthusiasts of professional football and baseball; USATODAY.com, an award-winning news and information Web site that is updated 24 hours per day; and USA TODAY LIVE, the television arm of the USA TODAY brand that brings the spirit and quality of the newspaper to television.

Source: USA TODAY

CONTACT: Steve Anderson, Director, Communications, +1-703-854-5872, sanderson@usatoday.com, or Heidi Henderson, Manager, Media Relations, +1-703-854-5304 or hhenderson@usatoday.com, both of USA TODAY

Web site: http://www.usatoday.com/debate

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