Series to Air Weekdays Following Dharma & Greg
Beginning November 27th
New York, NY, September 25, 2006 – WE tv announced today that the network has acquired all three seasons, a total of 73 half-hour episodes, of the sitcom Hope & Faith, starring Kelly Ripa and Faith Ford, from Buena Vista Television. The series will premiere as an all-day programming marathon from 12:00 pm ET to 10:00 pm ET the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, November 24, 2006. On Monday, November 27 the series will assume its regular time slot, airing weekdays at 7:00 pm ET and 7:30 pm ET following Dharma & Greg.
"Hope & Faith is a fun and lighthearted comedy series that perfectly aligns with the WE tv brand," stated Kim Martin, Executive Vice President and General Manager for WE tv. "We are thrilled to have this series join our continually expanding programming line-up. Partnered with Dharma & Greg the two shows will create a daily programming block on WE that viewers can count on for a comic look at life, love and relationships."
Hope & Faith stars Kelly Ripa (Regis & Kelly) as Faith and Faith Ford (Murphy Brown) as Hope. Faith is a daytime soap opera star who suddenly finds herself without a job after her character is killed off her popular daytime soap opera "The Sacred and the Sinful." Unsure of her next step, Faith decides to take a break from the limelight and moves to the suburbs to live with her down-to-Earth sister Hope, a happily married mom of three living in Ohio. It's only a matter of time before wild and carefree Faith wreaks havoc on the tidy and orderly lifestyle Hope and her family are accustomed to living. Hope & Faith ended its three season run on ABC in May 2006.
WE tv has experienced success with acquired series Dharma & Greg, which began airing on the network less than one year ago and has continually built in ratings and delivery. Since its premiere in October 2005, the series ratings have increased by +42%, HH Delivery has increased by +54% and delivery of W25-49 has nearly doubled.
Hope & Faith joins a continually expanding line-up of programming on WE tv, including hit original series Bridezillas, John Edward Cross Country and Secret Lives of Women. Today's announcement comes on the heels of WE tv's best summer ratings ever for Prime HH and demo delivery (W 18-34, W18-49, W25-49, W25-54). In addition, the network has experienced HH ratings growth of +16% YTD in 2006 (0.29 HH RTG) vs. 2005 YTD (0.25 HH RTG) and the 05/06 season is pacing to be the best in WE tv's history for Prime M-Su 8p-11p delivery of HH, W18-34, W18-49, W25-49 and W25-54.
Hope & Faith is produced by Touchstone Television and distributed by Buena Vista Television.
Source: Nielsen Media Research, Dharma & Greg Program Average in 9/26/05-10/30/05 vs. 7/31/06-8/27/06
Source: Nielsen Media Research, Prime M-Su 8p-11p, HH Rating and W18-34, W18-49, W25-49, W25-54 Audience (000),
Su-02 05/27/02-08/25/02, Su-03 05/26/03-08/31/03, Su-04 05/31/04-08/29/04, Su-05 05/30/05-08/28/05, Su-06 05/29/06-08/27/06; Nielsen Media Research, Prime M-Su 8p-11p 12/27/04-9/10/05 vs 12/26/05-9/10/06; Cable broadcast season 02-03 STD 09/30/02-08/31/03, 03-04 STD 09/29/03-08/29/04, 04-05 STD 09/27/04-08/28/05, 05-06 STD 09/26/05-08/27/06
About WE tv
WE tv is the only cable network dedicated to helping women connect to one another and the world around them. With quality original programming including the hit series "Bridezillas," unique movie packages like "Three Men and A Chick Flick," topical specials and its public affairs initiative WE Empowers Women, the network supports women and appeals to their interests in pop culture, relationships and personal style. WE tv is a subsidiary of Rainbow Entertainment Services and is currently seen in over 60 million homes.
About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media creates and manages some of the country's most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands including popular national and regional television channels AMC, fuse, The Independent Film Channel (IFC), WE tv, and two FSN affiliated regional sports networks managed by Rainbow Sports Networks. The company also manages Mag Rack and sportskool, two original on-demand networks; VOOM HD Networks, the largest and most diverse suite of high definition channels available anywhere; IFC Entertainment, its film distribution, production and exhibition division; Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, its advertising sales division; and Rainbow Network Communications, its full service network programming origination and distribution company.