New York -- TV Land is planning live and virtual "TV
Land Ultimate Fan Search" trivia contests this spring and summer.
Starting in May, the live "Ultimate Fan Search"
tour will hit shopping malls in 16 markets -- including Denver, San Diego, New York and
Washington, D.C. -- where cable operators will tie in.
Besides enabling the operators to brand TV Land locally,
the search will culminate in the fledgling network's first original special -- a game show
to be taped in Los Angeles for fall showing -- network vice president of affiliate
marketing Tracy Lawrence said.
So far, there are no plans to turn that into a series, a TV
Land spokeswoman added.
To reach viewers who are unable to attend those events, the
Nick at Nite spinoff network plans to run the contest via TV Land Online.
Both forms of the contest will test consumers' knowledge of
such classic TV series as Leave It to Beaver, The Brady Bunch and Gunsmoke.
In addition, the online contest will offer a separate cash prize to one cyberfan.
Prize details for both contests had not been finalized at
press time, except that the ultimate champion will be able to program an entire TV Land
block every week for a full year.
TV Land, which launched in spring 1996, planned to test the
live contest in an undisclosed market last weekend.
Six AT&T Broadband & Internet Services (formerly
Tele-Communications Inc.) systems will tie-in in various markets, as will three MediaOne
Group Inc. systems, two Comcast Corp. systems, two Cox Communications Inc. systems and the
Adlink interconnect in Los Angeles.
Although there are no plans to have a local ad-sales
component in all 16 markets, the spokeswoman said, operators can, for example, sell local
sponsorships to retailers in participating malls.
