Michael Ausiello and MMC Announce Long-Term Strategic Partnership to Launch New & Innovative TV Website

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move that strategically aligns two of the entertainment industry's most influential emerging brands, Michael Ausiello will be leaving Entertainment Weekly and EW.com to launch a new consumer TV focused property with media and publishing company MMC. Founded by its Chairman & CEO, Jay Penske, MMC owns entertainment properties Deadline.com led by Nikki Finke, HollywoodLife.com led by Bonnie Fuller, and Movieline.com led by Charles Runnette. The yet-to-be-named website will debut in January 2011, and top reporters will be added to complement Ausiello in MMC's and Ausiello's quest to build the finest TV site in the world.

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Ausiello's first role will be to spearhead the design and development of the TV property, and the partnership will soon announce the upcoming hires.  Ausiello's legions of diehard followers will still be able to get the best breaking news during the creation of this new property by following Ausiello on Twitter.  Once launched, Michael will become the Editor-in-Chief of the new MMC property.

During his tenure at Entertainment Weekly, Ausiello was responsible for breaking hundreds of exclusive TV stories, and the Ausiello Files—the print and online column—quickly became a must read for consumers as well as industry influencers. As evidenced by his 1.2 million Twitter followers, consumers around the world crave the inside scoop—and nobody breaks more consumer TV news than Michael.

Prior to joining Entertainment Weekly, Ausiello was a Senior Writer at TV Guide and TVGuide.com, where for over eight years he developed a reputation for breaking some of the TV industry's biggest stories.

"We're ecstatic to be working with Michael. As a world class journalist and one of the hardest working reporters in the industry, Michael is unequivocally recognized by the entertainment community as the leading voice on consumer TV news.  After the success of our consumer movie property Movieline.com, and our distinct leadership in the business of entertainment category with Deadline.com—it was an obvious next step for MMC to target the consumer TV audience with our next content destination." said Jay Penske. "To announce this strategic partnership with Michael in our efforts to redefine the TV category is tremendous, as his influence, audience engagement, and expertise within the TV community are unparalleled, and perfectly complement our existing editorial teams and entertainment properties." 

"My decision to leave the best job I've ever had, at one of the best entertainment brands, was not arrived at lightly. But I had been following what Jay Penske and the MMC team have achieved over the last few years, and the chance to build a property with MMC solely focused on TV is a great opportunity." said Ausiello. "I'm incredibly excited."

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva at Deadline.com will continue her leading television coverage with TV stories cross-pollinating between the new TV site and Deadline.com.  "After competing with Michael for scoops for so long, I'm extremely happy to have him join our team," Andreeva said. "Over the past few years, Michael has become a first-class TV reporter with an army of loyal fans larger than any other consumer TV journalist."  

About Michael Ausiello

Michael Ausiello is a highly respected and avidly followed American television journalist. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California, and spent three years as the senior news editor of Soaps in Depth magazine and eight years at TV Guide before joining Entertainment Weekly in 2008. While at EW, Ausiello penned a weekly print column for the magazine and a companion blog on EW.com both under the name, "The Ausiello Files." The Ausiello Files was just nominated for best online column of the year by leading industry organization MIN. Ausiello also served as the host of the popular EW.com vodcast, Ausiello TV. He has made cameo appearances on a number of his favorite television shows, including Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, and Scrubs.

To find out more about Michael Ausiello please visit www.MichaelAusiello.com.

About Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC)

MMC is a leading digital media and publishing company founded by CEO Jay Penske in 2004. MMC owns a unique portfolio of lifestyle brands that provide the web's best original content in categories including entertainment, automotive, breaking news, media, gadgets, finance, tech, health, beauty, and style. HollywoodLife.com, BGR.com, OnCars.com, Deadline.com, Movieline.com, India.com, HollyBaby.com, and Fan.com, are all part of the MMC digital portfolio. Until recently MMC also owned the Mail.com global portal and email brand. Under a transaction with Europe's largest Internet company, United Internet, which acquired Mail.com in 2010, MMC retains the exclusive right to provide content from its portfolio to the Mail.com portal.

For further information about MMC, please visit http://corp.mail.com  

SOURCE Mail.com Media Corporation