TNT Renews Contract for SAG AWARDS(TM)
Announcement Comes as TNT and SAG Gear up for Live Telecast of 11th ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS� Saturday, Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)
Turner Network Television (TNT), television�s destination for drama and the home of the SAG AWARDSTM since 1998, has just renewed its agreement with Screen Actors Guild (SAG) to continue carrying the prestigious awards show, according to an announcement today from Steve Koonin, executive vice president and chief operating officer for TNT and TBS and SAG President Melissa Gilbert. The announcement comes as TNT prepares to telecast the 11th ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS� Saturday, Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) from the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles.
�Airing the SAG AWARDSTM not only fits beautifully with TNT's drama branding, but also solidifies TNT's position, both in the industry and among our viewers, as the home for the very best and brightest Hollywood has to offer,� Koonin said. �We look forward to continuing our partnership with Screen Actors Guild in presenting this annual event.�
�TNT is the home of the SAG AWARDSTM and we are delighted that we will be able to stay home two more years,� said Gilbert. �The network has been a fantastic and supportive partner to the SAG AWARDSTM. They understand and help us celebrate the critical contributions that actors make to the moving image arts, and each year helps us bring that dynamic to a global audience.�
The SAG AWARDSTM, which began in 1995, was the first televised awards show to acknowledge the work of union members. Of the top industry honors presented to performers, it is the only one selected exclusively by actors� peers. The ceremony is one of the awards season�s premiere events and is closely watched by the industry as a precursor to possible Oscar� and Emmy� recognition and by viewers as a memorably dramatic night of live television.
The 11th ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS� on TNT will honor outstanding performances from 2004 in five film categories and eight television categories, including the unique ensemble awards, which commend the collaborative performance by a cast in a motion picture and by the ensemble casts of both comedy and dramatic TV series.
Each year, SAG also hands out a Life Achievement Award, presented to an actor who fosters the �finest ideals of the acting profession.� This year, Screen Actors Guild�s Life Achievement Award will be presented to James Garner.
The 12th ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS� will air on TNT on January 29, 2006.
In five of the seven years it has aired on TNT, the SAG AWARDSTM has shown ratings increases. The show drew its largest audience in 2003, when 4.8 million viewers tuned in.
Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is the nation�s largest labor union representing working actors. Established in 1933, SAG has a rich history in the American labor movement, from standing up to studios to break long-term engagement contracts in the 1940s to fighting for artists� rights amid the digital revolution sweeping the entertainment industry in the 21st century. With 20 branches nationwide, SAG represents nearly 120,000 working actors in film, television, industrials, commercials and music videos. The Guild exists to enhance actors� working conditions, compensation and benefits and to be a powerful, unified voice on behalf of artists� rights. Headquartered in Los Angeles, SAG is a proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO. More information about SAG and the SAG AWARDSTM is available online at www.sag.org.
Turner Network Television (TNT), television�s destination for drama and consistently one of cable�s top-rated networks, offers award-caliber original films, such as the Johnson & Johnson Spotlight PresentationSM 14 Hours; highly anticipated original series, including Into the West, an epic 12-hour limited series from DreamWorks Television and executive producer Steven Spielberg; powerful one-hour dramas, such as Law & Order, Without a Trace, ER, NYPD Blue, Charmed, Judging Amy and Angel; broadcast premiere movies; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is also available in high-definition.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and a leading provider of programming for the television industry.
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