Lifetime Networks Announces Mother's Day Poll and Weekend of Special Programming On-Air and Online

Lifetime Networks Announces Mother's Day Poll and Weekend of Special Programming On-Air and Online

FemiNation Poll Reveals Fifty-Five Percent of Married Moms Buy Their Mothers-in-Law's Mother's Day Presents; For Holiday Gift, Most Moms Prefer a Day Without Chores to Jewelry

Angelina Jolie and Julia Roberts Voted Top Hollywood Moms

Recent Every Woman Counts Poll Found Women Most Wanted to Introduce Their Moms to Hillary Clinton, Followed by John McCain

Lifetime Television's Mother's Day Weekend Movie Marathon Hosted by Comedienne Angela Hoover of myLifetime.com's Popular 'Mommy Madness' Series

NEW YORK, May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Lifetime Networks today announced the results of its initial FemiNation Poll, marking the launch of an ongoing research project on the attitudes of America's women. The Zogby International/Lifetime poll*, released for Mother's Day, reveals how mothers feel about juggling career and parenthood, how they grade their parenting skills vs. their own moms', whether they split household chores with their significant others, and how they plan to celebrate their special day and what gifts they hope to get.

Along with these findings, women voted Angelina Jolie and Julia Roberts as the top Hollywood moms, while Claire Huxtable of "The Cosby Show" was the "TV Mom" with whom they could most identify.

Lifetime's Mother's Day celebration includes special programming on the two most popular women's networks, Lifetime Television and Lifetime Movie Network, as well as myLifetime.com. Comedienne Angela Hoover, star of the popular myLifetime.com webisode series "Mommy Madness," dispenses comical advice on the art of parenting while serving as host of Lifetime's "Mother Knows Best" movie festival running on Saturday, May 10, from 11AM-11PM (ET/PT), and Sunday, May 11, from 10AM-10PM (ET/PT).

Among the weekend movie highlights is the U.S. Television Premiere of "Me, Mom, Dad and Her" on Saturday, May 10, at 9PM (ET/PT), starring Melora Hardin of "The Office." Sister channel Lifetime Movie Network presents the critically acclaimed "Thirteen," starring Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood, also on Saturday, May 10, at 8PM (ET).

Highlights of the FemiNation Mother's Day Poll

Lifetime's FemiNation Poll surveyed more than 2,000 moms to find out how they'd like to spend their Mother's Day:

While all virtually all moms indicate that they make sacrifices for their family, what most of them really want on Mother's Day is nothing more than a simple "Thank You."

   -- Almost all moms indicate that they often make sacrifices for their      family (95% total with 59% saying frequently and 36% saying sometimes);      and the majority of working moms (59%) find it difficult to balance      being a mom and their job.   -- The majority of mothers "don't want, need or expect anything from their      kids on Mother's Day" or would be satisfied with a simple "Thank you"      (73%); however, most of them are optimistic about getting something      special: 82% expect to get a gift of some sort from their kids, and a      mere 15% doubt their kids will get them anything at all.   -- Roughly nine-in-10 of "empty-nest" moms (88%) are at least somewhat      confident that they'll get a call from their kids who don't live at      home any more.    

Since Mom deserves a gift, the most desired Mother's Day gift (after a card) is "a day of no chores or responsibilities." This tops jewelry by a 5:1 ratio.

   -- The #1 most desired Mother's Day gift among moms is a card (17%)      followed closely by "a day of no chores or responsibilities" (16%).      Only 3% actually indicated that jewelry is what they'd most like to get      from their children on Mother's Day.  "Dinner at a nice restaurant"      ranks as the #1 most desired gift that married moms would most like to      get from their husbands (19%).   -- Perhaps not surprising that women just want a day off from housework,      the survey also shows that moms are still handling the majority of      household chores: 36% state their husbands do about a third of the      chores and 47% say that their husbands do less than a third or none.      Roughly 16% give credit to their husbands for doing most of the      household chores.     Moms just want a break.   -- When thinking about their ideal day, most moms would rather relax at      home (55%) than have a night out on the town (10%).    

Despite their hectic lives, over three-quarters of moms grade their performance above average. Moms today feel that their job is harder now than it was for their mothers.

   -- Most moms grade themselves as above average for their "over-all      performance as a mother." 55% give themselves a "B", while 23% feel      they deserve an "A".   -- The majority of moms feel that being a mother today is harder (52%)      than it was for their moms, compared to 17% who think it's easier to be      a mother today.    

As if they weren't busy enough, married mothers are also buying their mothers-in-law's gifts too.

   -- Of married moms, 55% say that they typically buy their mothers-in-law's      gifts.     * Zogby International was commissioned by Lifetime to conduct an online     survey of 2,072 mothers 18+ April 25-28, 2008. Slight weights were added     region, age, and race to more accurately reflect the population. Full     survey available upon request.     Every Woman Counts Poll: Women Deem Clinton and McCain Most Mom-Worthy   

Lifetime, also conducted a recent Every Woman Counts* poll, as part of the Networks' year-long non-partisan effort to encourage women to get more engaged in the political process as voters and future candidates. In addition to findings on issues important to women, voting behavior and perceptions of the presidential candidates, the poll found:

   -- For a Mother's Day surprise, more women would want to introduce their      moms to Hillary Clinton (28%) than John McCain (25%) or Barack Obama      (20%).     * The Every Woman Counts scientific poll was conducted April 2-7, 2008 by     Kellyanne Conway of the polling company inc. and Celinda Lake of Lake     Research Partners. The sample was 500 women nationwide, with 100     additional women in Pennsylvania, 100 additional African American women     and 100 additional Hispanic women. The margin of error for the main     sample is +/- 4.4% at a 95% confidence level. Margins of error for the     subgroups are higher.                       Celebrating Moms on myLifetime.com   

In "Mommy Madness," returning for its second season May 6 with 12 new episodes, Angela Hoover, a mother of two living in Las Vegas, shares tips, thoughts and humor amidst the madcap chaos of working from home, balancing family finances, feeding her kids and more.

There will be an entire section (mylifetime.com/lifestyle/home-crafts/mother-s-day/index) dedicated to Mother's Day. The package includes gifts, crafts and party ideas to celebrate the holiday, secrets on having a good relationship with mom, and photo galleries featuring celebrity moms. There will be an iTunes movie package available featuring top Lifetime Original Movies such as "A Little Thing Called Murder," "Lies My Mother Told," "Dawn Anna" and "Miracle Run."

MyLifetime.com will also offer several sweeps to help mark the special day: a Mommy Madness Giveaway for a chance to win $5,000; a Celebrate Mom Photo Contest for a chance to win a spa getaway for two and $1,000 (plus Applebees Gift Cards for the runner-ups); and an astrology sweeps for an opportunity to win a free mother-daughter reading.

FemiNation is Lifetime's new in-depth research project examining every aspect of women's lives today. Polls throughout the year will reveal women's views on and new trends in technology use, popular culture, lifestyle choices and social activism.

LIFETIME is the leader in women's television and one of the top-rated basic cable television networks. A diverse, multi-media company, LIFETIME is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. LIFETIME Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women and Lifetime Digital (including myLifetime.com) are part of LIFETIME Entertainment Services, a 50/50 joint venture of Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Lifetime

CONTACT: Geralyn Lucas, of Lifetime, +1-212-424-7066,
lucas@lifetimetv.com

Web site: http://www.mylifetime.com/
http://www.mylifetime.com/lifestyle/home-crafts/mother-s-day/index

---

Profile: International Entertainment