Adult Swim Partners with Zune for One-of-a-Kind Upfront Presentation

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In typical Adult Swim fashion, the network again steered clear of the norm and provided to a packed house of 500 television media buyers, executives and press an Upfront presentation like no other. Basic cable’s leading network with Adults 18-34 partnered with Microsoft’s Zune to unveil its new fall line-up on specially-branded Zune digital media players. Event attendees enjoyed a festive Adult Swim party earlier this evening in New York, complete with food, drink and Adult Swim series activities. Instead of sitting through a presentation filled with numerous charts, video clips and lectures, guests were surprised to receive their very own presentation in hand at the end of the night—on their new Zunes. The 30 gigabyte Zune players were pre-loaded with a video presentation hosted by the dapper film aficionado and columnist from Turner Classic Movies, Robert Osborne, and also included full episodes from new and returning series, original music and still photos.

“So we are pleased to partner with Microsoft’s Zune to deliver our new line-up on a sleek, cutting-edge device that will definitely get some attention—and provide our guests a great form of entertainment.”

“Adult Swim’s mission is to challenge the status quo, offering edgy, hilarious, often in-your-face programming that gets noticed,” said John O’Hara, senior vice president and general sales manager for Adult Swim. “So we are pleased to partner with Microsoft’s Zune to deliver our new line-up on a sleek, cutting-edge device that will definitely get some attention—and provide our guests a great form of entertainment.”

“When we launched Zune last fall we set out to push the boundaries of digital entertainment,” said Chris Stephenson, general manager of marketing for Zune. “We are excited to partner with fellow boundary pusher, Adult Swim, to help them put a new twist on unveiling the new season.”

Now in its third year as an individually rated network, the late-night service had a banner first quarter in which the network posted the highest quarterly total day delivery (Adults 18-34) in basic cable history. In addition to the presentation content shared via the Zune, Adult Swim also announced the addition of a seventh night of programming. This summer the network will begin running seven days a week by adding Friday nights.

Available in black, brown, white and pink, the 30GB Zune digital media player features a bright 3-inch screen, FM radio and built-in wireless to allow Zune users to beam songs and pictures from device to device. The Zune player is designed to work seamlessly with the Zune software and Zune Marketplace music download service, giving consumers an easy way to find, manage and enjoy their music, pictures and video. More information can be found online at http://www.zune.net/press.

Adult Swim (AdultSwim.com), launched in 2001, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s network offering original and acquired animated comedy and action series for young adults. Airing overnights six days a week for a total of 45 hours weekly, Adult Swim shares channel space with Cartoon Network, home to the best in original, classic and acquired programming for children and families, and is seen in 91 million U.S. homes.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.