AOL Lines Up New Original Content

NEW YORK, April 18: At its
“First Look” event for advertisers, AOL showcased new programming alliances
with Mark Burnett, DreamWorks Animation, Endemol, Madison Road Entertainment,
Stone & Co and Telepictures for content that is slated to roll out on the
platform this fall and early next year.

“This game is all about
scale, and AOL is one of only four companies that has it,” said Randy Falco,
AOL’s chairman and CEO, in announcing the new programs. “We want to be a
one-stop shop for advertisers in providing all of the tools, services, and
creative support they need to reach their consumers online. With two leading
advertising networks, AOL reaches nearly nine in ten online users each month,
and we want to help advertisers expand and extend their campaigns to reach that
mass audience. We’re pleased to have the opportunity to tell our clients and
the market about the great new products and programs we have for them.”

Ye Olde Shrek the Third
Royal Tournament, based on the Shrek
the Third movie, lets fans play 25
Shrek games over a six-week period. Every day, AOL will feature new challenges,
activities, news, downloads and more. It launches April 26, three weeks before
the movie hits theaters. The game is co-produced by AOL, DreamWorks Animation
and Mark Burnett Productions.

Gold Rush Goes Hollywood is AOL and Mark Burnett Productions’ follow-up to
last year’s hit Gold Rush.
Players compete in daily pop culture trivia games for cash prizes. Finalists
face off in a real-life hunt through Hollywood for a million dollars in gold.
The original Gold Rush
attracted nearly 11 million users and five blue chip sponsors. Gold Rush returns in the third quarter.

The Ellen DeGeneres
Show comes to AOL in a
cross-platform collaboration that lets people share hometown tales online that
will be featured on a recurring segment on the hit daytime series. Created in
partnership with Telepictures Productions, it launches in the fourth quarter.

In Million Dollar Bill, contestants play daily online games to reveal
serial numbers of U.S. dollar bills in active circulation. Top players compete
on TV, and viewers at home play along for a chance to win a million dollars. It
launches the first quarter of next year and is co-produced by AOL, Madison Road
Entertainment, Stone & Co. and Viewer Rewards.

In iLand, for the second quarter of next year, the
competition begins with an extensive online phase before taking finalists to a
remote island to set up a community. The online community interacts to shape
the outcome, helping (or hindering) the iLanders as they vie for the grand
prize—winning their own tropical island. It was created by Endemol.

“Of the Big Four online
networks, AOL is the only one that is doing this kind of major-scale
programming to engage advertisers and consumers,” Falco said. “We're proud to
be working with some of the biggest names and brands in the entertainment
industry and believe that these programs highlight the coming-of-age of the
online medium.”