Ion Television Breaks a Guinness World Record by Creating World's 'Largest Moving Box'

Ion Television Breaks a Guinness World Record by Creating World's 'Largest Moving Box'

NETWORK CELEBRATES RECORD ACHIEVEMENT AND THE LABOR DAY PREMIERE OF ITS FIRST NEW ORIGINAL SERIES, "DURHAM COUNTY"

NEW YORK, Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Earlier today, ION Television successfully broke the Guinness World Record for the Largest Moving Box at an event in Times Square to mark the premiere of the network's new original series "Durham County." The new weekly series, which debuts Monday, September 7th at 10:00 p.m., focuses on a police detective who moves back to his old home town, only to discover that his childhood nemesis lives next door and the neighborhood is rife with buried secrets.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090903/NY70675 )

Measuring 42 ft x 16 ft x 8 ft, the epically proportioned box is big enough to contain the entire cast, and a good part of the neighborhood, of "Durham County." ION Television's new record smashes the previous cardboard box that stood 37 ft 10 in x 15 ft 1.5 in x 7 ft 7 in, manufactured by students of Aarhus Business College in Aarhus, Denmark in 2007.

Once complete, the record breaking box played host to a contest between 20 individuals who scrambled into thousands of biodegradable packing peanuts to find the winning key-chain that unlocked a door to $100,000 towards defraying home owning costs. The winner, Stephanie Kelly of Kearny, New Jersey, a single mother of two teenagers, said the money will enable her to refinance and keep her home.

"What better way for ION Television to launch its first new original series than to break a Guinness World Record?" said Eleo Hensleigh, Chief Marketing Officer, ION Media Networks. "Anyone who has ever had to pack up and move knows the feeling of wanting nothing more than one really big box to throw all their stuff into. And once we decided to do this, it just made sense to do it big and help out a family -- it's an honor to be able to help someone in need during these tough times."

"We'd like to congratulate ION Television on becoming a new Guinness World Record holder and are delighted that it has given everyone associated with the new show -- Durham County -- a nice boost before its premiere on Monday," said Carlos Martinez, official adjudicator of Guinness World Records. "It's exciting to see creativity and extraordinary ideas come to life in such a grand scale."

Working throughout the night, the box was constructed from materials consistent with those of a standard cardboard box but on a much larger scale. By 6:00 a.m., the moving box was complete, measurements were taken and the official Guinness World Records adjudicator, Carlos Martinez was able to declare ION Television as the new holder of the Guinness World Record for The Largest Moving Box. The record attempt culminated in a certificate presentation by Mr. Martinez. Official Guinness World Records guidelines state that structure, when fully assembled, must exceed the previous record measurements in all dimensions, and be measured by a qualified surveyor.

About ION Television

ION Television (www.iontelevision.com) is a general entertainment network which reaches over 96 million U.S. television households via its nationwide broadcast television, cable and satellite distribution systems. Launched in 2006, ION Television features popular TV series and movies from the award-winning libraries of RHI Entertainment, CBS Television, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television, Twentieth Television and Warner Bros. Parent company, ION Media Networks, Inc., owns and operates the nation's largest broadcast television station group. Using its digital multicasting capability, ION Media Networks has launched the digital TV brands qubo, a channel for children focusing on literacy and values, and ION Life, a channel dedicated to active living and personal growth. It also has launched Open Mobile Ventures Corporation (OMVION), a business unit focused on the research and development of portable, mobile and out-of-home transmission technology using over-the-air digital television spectrum. For more information, visit www.ionmedia.com.

About Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records is the universally recognized authority on record-breaking achievement. First published in 1955, the annual Guinness World Records book is published in more than 100 countries and 25 languages and is one of the highest-selling books under copyright of all time with more than 3 million copies sold annually across the globe. Guinness World Records celebrated its 50th anniversary edition in 2004, a year after the sale of its 100 millionth copy. Guinness World Records also annually publishes the Gamer's Edition; a records book devoted solely to the world of computer gaming and high score record achievements. The Guinness World Records website (www.guinnessworldrecords.com) receives more than 11 million visitors a year. Guinness World Records is part of the Jim Pattison Group, one of Canada's largest privately owned companies which is a conglomerate of interests, including advertising, broadcasting, grocery stores and automotive retailing.

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Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090903/NY70675
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Source: Guinness World Records

CONTACT: ION TELEVISION, Rick Gomes, Sayles & Winnikoff Communications,
+1-212-725-5200 x114, or +1-917-783-5228 (c), rick@sayleswinnikoff.com; or
Amelie Tseng, ION Television, +1-973-897-8868 (c), amelie.tseng@verizon.net;
or GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS, Philip Robertson, +1-718-513-7268,
Philip.Robertson@guinnessworldrecords.com, or Jamie Panas, +1-718-513-7263,
Jamie.Panas@guinnessworldrecords.com

Web Site: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment