HISTORY(TM) and Bank of America Announce Groundbreaking Integrated Partnership Across Epic 12-Hour Programming Event

NEW YORK, April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- AMERICA THE STORY OF US, an epic 12-hour television event and national educational initiative covering 400 years of American history, will premiere on HISTORY™ on Sunday, April 25, 8 pm ET/PT. As the most in-depth television project ever produced by HISTORY, the remarkable new series will be presented by Bank of America®, who is providing an unprecedented level of support to bring viewers the adventure that became a nation.  

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"We could not have found a more perfect, natural partner," said Nancy Dubuc, president and general manager, HISTORY. "The series tells the extraordinary story of how America was invented. It's an immersive look at the forces – the people, places and things that created this most astounding country. Bank of America is intrinsically and integrally intertwined with the growth and development of this nation. We are pleased to have the significant support of Bank of America and all of our corporate sponsors."

In conjunction with its presenting sponsorship, Bank of America is partnering with HISTORY to  produce 12, two-minute, original mini-documentaries depicting Bank of America's rich history and contributions to America's epic story as it aligns with the timeline of each series episode. The mini-documentaries will showcase the integral role Bank of America has continued to play throughout America's history – fueling, investing and moving America and its economy forward.

"We are especially proud to support this groundbreaking new series because the history of Bank of America is so inextricably woven into the history of America," said Meredith Verdone, senior vice president for Brand, Advertising and Research, Bank of America. "As far back as 1784 to the present day, Bank of America has continually helped fuel economic opportunity and prosperity by investing in the industries, infrastructures, institutions and individuals that have helped build our country. And that heritage continues to inspire us today in our continued commitment to enabling financial opportunity throughout the U.S. and around the world."

Bank of America's promotional support also will include integrated, multi-channel marketing and grass-roots programming to drive nationwide viewers to the HISTORY series, including VOD and online. To reach its more than 58 million customers and 282,000 associates, Bank of America will air series trailers and segments on screens in more than 1,000 Bank of America banking centers across the country and series advertisements on www.bankofamerica.com, one of the country's most visited Web sites with roughly 24 million unique monthly visitors.  

At the time of the series debut, Bank of America will introduce a new interactive page on the bank's Heritage Center Web site, http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/heritagecenter, where viewers can learn more about the bank's partnership with HISTORY, as well as Bank of America's own history which spans more than 200 years.

Starcom USA, Bank of America's media agency of record, aided in the development of this unique partnership. In addition to presenting sponsor Bank of America, additional corporate underwriters include General Motors, Valspar and Geico.

Narrated by Liev Schreiber (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, A View from the Bridge), AMERICA THE STORY OF US is the most in-depth television series ever produced by HISTORY, as well as the broadest educational outreach initiative the network has ever undertaken. It is the first television event in nearly forty years to present the history of America, and the most elaborate and ambitious in the scale of its cinematic vision. This is history with roots in the physical world: wilderness, animals, weather, and the sea. In conjunction with the broadcast, HISTORY will launch its largest ever educational outreach initiative and will for the first time offer a DVD of the entire 12-hour series to every single school and accredited college in America – free of charge.

AMERICA THE STORY OF US tells the extraordinary story of the birth of a nation built on a spirit of adventure and entrepreneurship, looking at the moments where Americans harnessed technology to advance human progress – from the rigors of linking the continent by transcontinental railroad, the internet of its day, to triumphing over vertical space through construction of steel structured buildings.

The series is also a story of conflict – with Native American peoples, slavery, the revolutionary war that birthed the nation, the Civil War that divided it and the great world war that shaped its future.  This is a look at the forces that have shaped us – the people, places and things that created this most astounding country. It's a tough and thrilling adventure.

Jane Root, the executive producer of AMERICA THE STORY OF US and founder and chief executive of Nutopia, said of the series, "Our goal was to create a series that will ignite viewer interest, and make history exuberant and exciting. Among the breathtaking historical events that have been portrayed are a meteor that crashes through the Appalachian Mountains 300 million years ago to create the Cumberland Gap, the British Navy's spectacular bombardment of the New York Harbor at the dawn of the Revolutionary War, New England whalers risking their lives to kill their valuable prey, the wide open western plains teeming with massive herds of buffalo, the construction of the Statue of Liberty, and the Erie Canal and transcontinental railroad that opened up central commercial routes and connected the continent together."

Among the historical events covered in AMERICA THE STORY OF US include: the arrival of the first English settlers, the Revolutionary War, westward expansion, economic growth of the north and south, the Civil War, the settling of the Great Plains, the development of modern, industrialized cities, the California Gold Rush and the western frontier, the Great Depression and the Second World War.

Special consultants on AMERICA THE STORY OF US include Professors Daniel Walker Howe and David M. Kennedy. In addition, a chorus of notable Americans will speak from the heart, reflecting on our country and what it means to be an American. They include: Brian Williams, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Buzz Aldrin, Colin Powell, Sheryl Crow, Soledad O'Brien, David Baldacci, Meryl Streep, Donald Trump, Michael Douglas and many more.

AMERICA THE STORY OF US is produced for HISTORY by Nutopia, a new production company started by Jane Root, former president of Discovery Channel. Prior to that Jane ran BBC2, and was a founder of the production company Wall to Wall Television. Jane Root is executive producer, Michael Jackson is co-executive producer and Ben Goold is Series Showrunner. For HISTORY, Nancy Dubuc, David McKillop and Julian P. Hobbs are executive producers.

HISTORY™ and HISTORY HD™ are the leading destinations for revealing, award-winning original non-fiction series and event-driven specials that connect history with viewers in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. Programming covers a diverse variety of historical genres ranging from military history to contemporary history, technology to natural history, as well as science, archaeology and pop culture. Among the network's program offerings are hit series such as Ax Men, Battle 360, How The Earth Was Made, Ice Road Truckers, Pawn Stars and The Universe, as well as acclaimed specials including 102 Minutes That Changed America, 1968 with Tom Brokaw, King, Life After People, Nostradamus: 2012, Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed and WWII in HD. HISTORY has earned four Peabody Awards, seven Primetime Emmy® Awards, 12 News & Documentary Emmy® Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History® campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. Take a Veteran to School Day is the network's latest initiative connecting America's schools and communities with veterans from all wars. The HISTORY web site, located at www.history.com, is the definitive historical online source that delivers entertaining and informative content featuring broadband video, interactive timelines, maps, games and more.

Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 58 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 5,900 retail banking offices, more than 18,000 ATMs and award-winning online banking with nearly 30 million active users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients in more than 150 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

www.bankofamerica.com

SOURCE Bank of America