15 November 2000
STAMFORD,
CT, Nov. 15 /CNW/ - World Wrestling Federation Entertainment,
Inc. (NYSE: WWF) announced today that it has signed a three-year
contract with
The Score Television Network to broadcast WWFE's highly successful
television
program, SmackDown!(TM), beginning November 16, 2000. The deal
also includes
the rights to broadcast WWF Metal(TM) for three years beginning
mid-December
of this year and certain XFL(TM) games for a period of two years
beginning
February 2001.
"We believe that there is significant untapped potential
to introduce our
programming in the Canadian market and our deal with The Score
provides us
with the perfect partner to realize this potential," said
Linda McMahon, Chief
Executive Officer. "This is yet another of a series of recent
agreements that
will enable the Company to expand its reach outside of the US
market and meet
the worldwide demand of our ever-increasing fan base."
The agreement consists of a three-year contract with options for
The
Score to extend the contract for two additional years. The Score
will pay WWFE
an annual television rights fee and WWFE will retain the rights
to sell 100%
of the commercial inventory on SmackDown! In return, WWFE will
remit a
percentage of the net proceeds to The Score. Additionally, WWFE
will take an
equity position in The Score's parent company, Headline Media
Group Inc.
(HMGI), subject to the approval of The Toronto Stock Exchange
and the pending
completion of the reverse takeover transaction whereby Old Canada
Investment
Corporation Limited (TSE:OCI) acquires The Score and OCI is renamed
Headline
Media Group Inc. Under the agreement, WWFE will initially subscribe
for
222,223 Class A Subordinate Voting Shares of HMGI and will have
an option to
acquire an additional 5,005,777 Class A Subordinate Voting Shares
over an
option exercise period that expires on February 28, 2002. In aggregate,
the
initial subscription and shares subject to the option will represent
up to 10%
of the total issued and outstanding shares of HMGI. The initial
subscription
price and option exercise price is CDN$4.50 per share.
"It has been our intention to introduce SmackDown! and WWF
Metal to our
Canadian fans for quite some time," said Carl DeMarco, President,
WWFE Canada,
Inc. "The opportunity to join forces with The Score and introduce
additional
WWFE programming into the Canadian market will certainly broaden
our appeal
with all of our viewers. Our fans and the 4.6 million subscribers
on The Score
television network can now view a full complement of WWFE programming.
This
will enable our avid and loyal fans to better keep up with our
weekly story
lines and view, what promises to be, an exciting new brand of
football with
the kick off of the XFL."
SmackDown! will air Thursday evenings from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00
p.m. with a
repeat currently scheduled from 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. the same
evening.
SmackDown! currently airs on UPN in the United States and has
been UPN's
number one prime time program since its premiere in August 1999.
The
introduction of SmackDown! will augment other WWFE programs (Sunday
Night
Heat(R); Raw is War(R), and Livewire(TM)) currently broadcast
in the Canadian
market.
WWF Metal is currently scheduled to be broadcast Saturdays from
5:00 p.m.
to 6:00 p.m. and rebroadcast from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday
evenings.
In addition to obtaining the broadcasting rights to SmackDown!
and WWF
Metal, The Score also signed a two-year agreement to broadcast
one XFL game
every Sunday during the regular season as well as two playoff
games and the
Championship game. The opening kick off for the XFL is scheduled
for February
3, 2001.
"We are delighted to have WWFE and the XFL as programming
partners", said
John Levy, President and CEO of The Score. "The equity investment
by WWFE is
an endorsement of our programming vision and will enable us to
draw upon
WWFE's unparalleled brand building, marketing and promotional
expertise as we
build out The Score brand as Canada's source for sports news,
information and
targeted live event programming."
World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. is an integrated
media and
entertainment company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut,
with sale
offices in New York City, Chicago and Toronto. The company is
an equal partner
with NBC in the XFL, a new professional football league scheduled
to kickoff
in February 2001. The company can be found online at wwf.com and
wwfecorpbiz.com.
The Score brings Canadians sports highlights, news, information
and live
event programming in a non-traditional fast paced format. The
Score is
Canada's only sports network with a ticker that never sleeps -
bringing
Canadians all the breaking sports news and information 24 hours
a day, even
while games are in progress.
Forward-Looking Statements : This news release contains forward-looking
statements which are subject to various risks and uncertainties.
These risks
and uncertainties include the conditions of the markets for live
events,
broadcast television, cable television, pay-per-view, Internet,
food and
beverage, entertainment, professional sports, and licensed merchandise;
acceptance of the Company's brands, media and merchandise within
those
markets; and other risks and factors identified in documents filed
with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results could differ
materially
from those currently anticipated.