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International Entertainment News

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

CKX, Inc. to Acquire and Shut Down 'Elvis' Themed Museum in Las Vegas

CKX, Inc. to Acquire and Shut Down 'Elvis' Themed Museum in Las Vegas

Company Will Cease Operations, Clearing Path for Major Themed Attraction

NEW YORK, Sept. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CKX, Inc. (NASDAQ:CKXE) announced today that its subsidiary, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., has agreed to acquire the assets of the Elvis-A-Rama museum, located off the strip in Las Vegas, including the trademark to the name "Elvis-A-Rama," the related website and a substantial portion of the memorabilia currently on display at the Las Vegas-based establishment. The existing museum will be permanently closed and the Elvis-A-Rama name retired as part of CKX's overall plan to bring a world class Elvis-themed attraction to the Las Vegas strip.

Robert F.X. Sillerman, Chairman and CEO of CKX commented, "As we have mentioned on numerous occasions, establishing a major presence for the 'Elvis' brand in Las Vegas is an important priority of the company. The closure of the museum together with the purchase of the artifacts and memorabilia currently located there, clears the way for implementation of our plan."

CKX is acquiring these assets from Chris Davidson and certain other minority partners. Mr. Davidson has been collecting Elvis memorabilia for over ten years and is among the world's most well known private collectors of such items.

As part of the purchase, the Company will grant to Mr. Davidson the right to open a licensed Elvis-themed museum in Hawaii, a location often associated with Mr. Presley. In addition to receipt of the licensing fee, the Company will retain the right to acquire a significant equity interest in the Hawaiian operations. Hawaii served as the location for three of Mr. Presley's films and perhaps most famously, was home to the 1973 concert "Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii," which was broadcast worldwide and ultimately viewed by more than 1.5 billion people around the world.

About CKX

CKX, Inc. is engaged in the ownership, development and commercial utilization of entertainment content. To date, we have focused on acquiring globally recognized entertainment content and related assets, including the rights to the name, image and likeness of Elvis Presley, the operations of Graceland and proprietary rights to the IDOLS television brand, including the American Idol series in the United States, the Pop Idol series in the United Kingdom and local adaptations of the IDOLS television show format which, collectively, air in over 30 countries around the world. We plan to continue to make strategic acquisitions of, or partner or align with, companies or individuals that control various forms of established entertainment content, which may include intellectual property rights in music, film, television programming, written works and characters, rights to names, images and likenesses, video games, corporate brands and other related assets.

This document includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs, and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein due to changes in economic, business, competitive, technological and/or regulatory factors, acquisitions of dispositions of business assets, and the potential impact of future decisions by management that may result in merger and restructuring charges, as well as the potential impact of any future impairment charges to goodwill or other intangible assets. More detailed information about these factors may be found in filings by CKX, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission. CKX, Inc. is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward- looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Source: CKX, Inc.

CONTACT: Sean Cassidy, +1-212-981-5233, or Ed Tagliaferri, +1-212-981-5182, Robert Zimmerman, +1-212-981-5118, all for CKX, Inc.

------- Profile: Ent

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