Eight Major Public Television Stations Create Sales Entity.

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 27, 2002

A new sponsorship sales firm has been established by eight public television stations. PBS has also become a member of the group. Public Television National Productions (PTNP) will represent programs released by these stations for national public television distribution. Securing underwriting for public television programs helps bring some of the best of television to the screen, while giving sponsors a visible connection to public television's quality reputation.

In addition to PBS, membership includes the principal public television stations, including KCET/Hollywood; WTTW, Chicago; KQED, San Francisco; KERA, Dallas; KCTS, Seattle; WQED, Pittsburgh; Oregon Public Broadcasting, and Connecticut Public Television.

Speaking as chair of the Board of PTNP, Al Jerome, president and CEO of KCET, stated, "PBS member stations produce some of the best original programming on television. This new business group harnesses our incredible capabilities and will provide corporations with an exciting new way of sponsoring our programs."

PTNP has sales executives in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Programs range from cooking series such as "Mexico: One Plate at a Time," a WTTW production hosted by well-known Chicago-based chef Rick Bayless, to "PBS Hollywood Presents," primetime original dramas produced at the legendary studios of member station KCET.

The series' latest production is "The Gin Game" starring Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore, in their first television acting reunion in almost 40 years. Seattle's KCTS is presenting "Space Millennium," an exciting four-part series shot in stunning detail in High Definition (Additional programs follow).

The CEO of PTNP is Jay Campbell. Campbell comes from Cable Ad Ventures, a television development, sales and production company he has headed for twenty years.

Mr. Campbell introduced "American Family" to Johnson & Johnson, which resulted in their exclusive sponsorship of the PBS series, the first primetime drama on network television to feature a Latino cast.

Speaking of the unique opportunity PTNP presents to marketers, Campbell said, "Companies find it more and more difficult to reach the right audience without the noise and clutter of television media. Public television is a wonderful place to get a message across while supporting the best television has to offer."

For more information about PTNP program sponsorships, contact: Public Television National Productions, 75 North Maple Avenue, Ste. 204, Ridgewood, NJ 07450, Phone: [phone], Fax: [phone]

IN ADDITION TO PROGRAMS MENTIONED IN THE PRESS RELEASE, THESE PTNP PROGRAM SPONSORSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE:

-- "Men in the Middle" (Connecticut Public Television)

A series for men in the prime of their lives filled with valuable advice about the things they care about most.

-- "The American Soundtrack" (WQED)

A series on best-loved songs from decades of this country's pop music. Two new specials include "Red, White and Rock," a rock R&B and doo wop show, and "This Land is Your Land" with the Smothers Brothers and Judy Collins.

-- "American Attic" (OPB)

A magazine-style series featuring three separate historical mystery stories in each episode.

-- "Presumed Guilty" (KQED)

Following two high-profile murder cases, the series explores what really goes on between defense attorneys and the accused within the inner sanctum of lawyer-client confidentiality.

-- "Ready for Life" (KERA)

An emotionally powerful, intimate look into the lives of five diverse families all striving to give their children the greatest opportunities to grow to their full potential.

-- "Space Millennium" (KCTS)

This ambitious HDTV science series combines location sequences - on, above and below the surface of the earth - with deep space imagery and extraordinary animation to discover how life began on earth and what life might exist in the universe.