Detroit Lions and WXYZ-TV Announce New Partnership for 2011 Season

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- WXYZ-TV and the Detroit Lions are proud to announce a new broadcast partnership that will bring the excitement and energy of Lions football to a new and growing audience of fans during the upcoming 2011 season.

The agreement, which incorporates unique, year-round programming and marketing initiatives, includes the following programming content on WXYZ various platforms:

• Telecast of all four preseason games and pregame shows in High-Definition TV
• An exclusive one-hour weekly "live" pre-game show from Ford Field and all away games
• Special Detroit Lions Training Camp updates
• An April NFL Draft special
• A regular season Monday night interview segment with Head Coach Jim Schwartz
• A regular season Thursday night Detroit Lions player interview segment
• Special Detroit Lions-oriented digital elements on wxyz.com and detroitlions.com

"We're thrilled to offer Detroit area viewers the opportunity to experience Lions football in new and exciting ways, especially as the team builds upon the momentum of last season," said WXYZ Vice-President and General Manager, Ed Fernandez. "We understand the passion that people have for Lions football and we're pleased to join the Detroit Lions organization in this exciting new programming and marketing partnership."

Additional programming initiatives will highlight the rich history of the Detroit Lions organization and its commitment to serve the community through numerous outreach efforts, as well as the team's non-profit charitable foundation, Detroit Lions Charities.

"It is important to connect with our great fans through a wide variety of mediums," said Lions President Tom Lewand. "Throughout the entire year, our new venture with the WXYZ team creates the right partnership that will provide valuable broadcast platforms and deliver in-depth Lions' content. We look forward to our work ahead with WXYZ."

As part of this agreement, WXYZ and the Detroit Lions have formed a unique collaborative sales and marketing effort that allows both parties to provide advertising clients an array of media and in-stadium experiences to reach avid football fans.

WXYZ-TV is part of Scripps Media, Inc., which operates 10 TV stations.  The corporate parent, the E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP) is a diverse, 131-year old media enterprise with interests in television stations, newspapers, local news and information Web sites, and comics/features syndication.  For a full listing of Scripps media companies and their associated Web sites, visit http://www.scripps.com/.

SOURCE WXYZ-TV