Sponsorship Includes First-Time AMC has Offered an Advertiser Complete Ownership of 'Date Night" Block Including On-Site Branded Wraps, Integration and Product Placement
Date Night feature "It Could Happen to You" premieres Monday, May 15th Starring Nicholas Cage, Bridget Fonda and Rosie Perez
New York, NY, May 10, 2006 – AMC, basic cable's premiere destination dedicated to movies and movie culture, announced today that Celebrity Cruises has signed on to sponsor AMC Network's popular "Date Night" programming block for Monday, May 15th with It Could Happen to You, starring Nicholas Cage, Bridget Fonda and Rosie Perez. Airing every Monday at 8PM EST/PST, "Date Night" offers viewers a movie where, between the feature film and commercials, viewers witness fellow movie-lovers seek true love, by speed dating other film fanatics, with the hope of finding their perfect movie match.
Celebrity Cruises' sponsorship marks the first time the network has custom created the entire "Date Night" programming block for an advertiser. The Celebrity cruise ship, Millennium, served as the setting for all of the evening's wraps, allowing them to have integrated interstitials that highlighted the interior and exterior of the ship and product placement during the speed dating customized vignettes. Because shooting took place from the ship's deck, b-roll elements were seamlessly integrated into the packaging, again, including interior and exterior shots of the ship depicting casual sophistication, relaxation, and fine dining further highlighting the Celebrity Cruises brand. As part of the sponsorship agreement, they also receive tagged tune-ins, billboards and online presence on amctv.com.
"Taping all of the elements from the ship, overlooking the water, really allowed for Celebrity Cruises to own Date Night with exposure during every break, as well as within our dating vignettes. AMC is always looking for new and innovative ways to seamlessly brand advertisers' messages with our audience," said Arlene Manos, President, National Network Advertising Sales. "On the heels of its most successful year of ratings in the network's history, AMC continues to maintain our loyal core audience while also attracting a younger, informed viewer giving sponsors, like Celebrity Cruises, that wide consumer appeal they desire."
It Could Happen to You (1994) is a comedy/drama/romance about "A cop. A waitress. A lottery ticket." The film stars Nicholas Cage as a good-hearted police officer named Charlie Lang who promises to share half his potential lottery ticket winnings with a waitress named Yvonne (Bridget Fonda), when he is unable to tip her. The problem is Charlie wins the four million dollar lottery and he gives Yvonne her share, but his wife Muriel Lang (Rosie Perez) adamantly refuses to split the winnings and decides to leave Charlie. As Charlie and Muriel grow apart, Charlie and Yvonne grow closer.
AMC's commitment to the original programming genre garnered record ratings growth for 2005 leading to the best year ever in the history of the network. 2005 ranked as the network's strongest year to date in Primetime HH ratings, Household, and A18-49 & A25-54 deliveries. Additionally, AMC ranked among the top 20 networks in primetime performance of key demos.
**Source: Nielsen Media Research, 2005 (12/27/04-12/25/05) Primetime: M-Su 8-11p; Since beginning of Nielsen measurement 4/97. Comparisons to ad-supported network performance exclude Nick, which does not broadcast more than 51% of primetime daypart.
About AMC
AMC, a division of Rainbow Media's Entertainment Services, which also includes WE: Women's Entertainment and IFC Companies, is a 24-hour, movie-based network, dedicated to the American movie fan. The network, which reaches over 86,000,000 homes, offers a comprehensive library of popular movies and a critically-acclaimed slate of original programming that is a diverse, movie-based mix of original series, documentaries and specials. AMC has garnered many of the industry's highest honors, including 14 Emmy awards. AMC is "TV for movie people."
About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
A leader in the entertainment industry, Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation. Rainbow creates and manages some of the country's most compelling and dynamic programming with linear networks including national networks – AMC, fuse, IFC (The Independent Film Channel) and WE: Women's Entertainment; its regional programming service – Rainbow Sports Networks; on-demand networks including Mag Rack and sportskool; and the largest suite of high definition channels available anywhere – the VOOM HD Networks. Rainbow's other businesses include its film distribution, production and exhibition division – IFC Entertainment; in addition to its advertising sales division – Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation – and its full service network programming origination and distribution company – Rainbow Network Communications.
About Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises offers a comfortably sophisticated, upscale cruise experience with highly personalized service, authentic five-star dining, and extraordinary attention to detail. Its nine ships and the line's service, cuisine and spas consistently dominate top travelers' surveys. Celebrity sails in Alaska, Bermuda, California, the Caribbean, Europe, the Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, the Mexican Riviera, the Panama Canal and South America. For more information, call your travel agent, dial 1-800-437-3111, or visit the Celebrity web site at www.celebrity.com.