World Wresting Entertainment To Debut New Sunday Morning Television Program on Spike TV

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--04/19/2004-- Debut of "The WWE Experience(TM)" Marks Start of Initiative to Attract a New Generation of WWE(R) Fans

World Wrestling Entertainment(R) will debut a new Sunday morning television program on Spike TV called, The WWE Experience. The television program is the first step in a multi-faceted campaign directed at attracting younger viewers to the WWE brand.

The WWE Experience will debut on Spike TV on Sunday, May 2, at 10 a.m./9C. The one-hour TV-PG program, hosted by Todd Grisham and WWE Diva Ivory(TM), will feature weekly edited wrap-ups of the action and storylines from both of WWE's flagship programs, Monday Night RAW(R) (Monday, Spike TV, 9 p.m./8C) and WWE SmackDown!(TM) (Thursday, UPN, 8 p.m./7C). The program also will take a behind-the-scenes look at the activities of the WWE Superstars from both television brands.

"For years, we had a Sunday morning program, a tradition which ended in May 2001 when we announced a sweeping change of our cable programming," said Kevin Dunn, WWE Executive Producer. "With The WWE Experience, we are bringing back that Sunday morning tradition. Many of us when we were younger first discovered the WWE through weekend programming, and now the current younger generation will have that same opportunity with The WWE Experience."

Kurt Schneider, WWE Executive Vice President, Marketing, said The WWE Experience is the start of a concerted effort to find more opportunities for younger viewers to sample the WWE brand. "The WWE Experience will appeal to wrestling fans of all ages as it is the only place you can see the entire lineup of WWE Superstars on one program," he said. "Additionally, The WWE Experience will be a key point-of-entry for a new generation of wrestling fans, and will serve as the foundation for several initiatives that will appeal specifically to our younger viewers."

WWE also announced that WWE Velocity(TM) on Saturdays on Spike TV will move from 10 p.m. to 7 p.m./6C, starting May 1. The one-hour live event show features the talent of SmackDown!, and showcases original matches and Superstar highlights. The program is hosted by Josh Mathews and Bill DeMott. With the time switch, the program's rating will change from TV-14 to TV-PG.

WWE Confidential(TM), which debuted on May 25, 2001, will end its run on Spike TV on Saturday, April 24, 2004.

Other programs currently on the air for WWE:

-- WWE Sunday Night Heat(R) (Sunday, Spike TV, 7 p.m./6C) is a one-hour live event show featuring Monday Night RAW Superstars. Hosted by The Coach(TM) and Al Snow(R), Sunday Night Heat features original matches and Superstar highlights of the hottest mat action and interviews Monday Night RAW has to offer!

-- WWE Bottom Line(TM) (weekend syndication, check local listings) delivers highlights and exclusives for Monday Night RAW. This magazine format show analyzes key events on Monday Night RAW and Sunday Night Heat.

-- WWE AfterBurn(TM) (weekend syndication, check local listings) breaks down the week that was for the SmackDown! brand. AfterBurn highlights matches and interviews from SmackDown! and Velocity.

Credit: corporate.wwe.com