Spike Signs Geoff Keighley to Talent Deal

NEW YORK: Spike TV has signed a multi-year talent and production deal for video game journalist Geoff Keighley to develop, executive produce and host a slate of original specials for the network.

As part of the deal, Keighley will continue to host and executive produce GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley, moderate the roundtable talk show The Bonus Round on GameTrailers.com and act as a producer on the annual Spike Video Game Awards.

"Geoff is the best host in the game industry and a big reason why Spike is the number one network for video game programming," said Kevin Kay, the president of Spike TV. "We are excited to enter into a new, long-term agreement with him and support the game category with even more coverage in the years to come."

The first special, Gillette-EA SPORTS Champions Of Gaming Final, featuring Derek Jeter and Reggie Bush, will premiere on February 18 at 11:30 p.m. The show is the culmination of an online tournament between 350,000 gamers all over the world playing on Xbox LIVE for the right to match-up with their sports heroes.

"The Gillette-EA SPORTS Champions Of Gaming Finals is another example of why Spike is the go-to network for video game programming," commented Keighley. "This year we are looking forward to supplementing GameTrailers TV with video game specials and live coverage that celebrates the biggest gaming events of the year."