Ovation Creates Destination Nights

NEW YORK: Ovation has launched three different arts-focused "destination nights" on the network: Artists & Icons, Movies to Stand Up For and The Best You’ve Never Seen.

Sunday night’s Artists & Icons lineup features movies and documentaries about artists—musicians, directors, photographers, actors, painters, dancers, etc—who have set the standard of their profession. Thursday’s Movies to Stand Up For block will program critics’ favorites as well as those worth a second look. Every Saturday night the network will showcase originals and premieres—TV movies, mini-series and series—with The Best You’ve Never Seen. Upcoming premieres include Cloudstreet, The Runaway, Bouquet of Barbed Wire and What to Do When Someone Dies.

The network also highlights the new original dance competition A Chance to Dance, from producers Nigel and Simon Lythgoe. The series will launch this summer. “A Chance to Dance is on track to be Ovation’s breakout series,” said Liz Janneman, the executive VP of ad sales for Ovation. “Produced by two of the most successful producers of reality competition shows, including So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol, we are confident that this series will appeal to Ovation fans as well as bring many new viewers to the network. We are very excited to be able to offer advertisers many creative ways to be a part of this phenomenal show, as well as our ongoing destination nights.”

“We’re looking to define the network with powerful emotional storytelling that has an artful, literary connection,” commented Kris Slava, the senior VP of programming at Ovation. “ All of these titles pass that test with flying colors and work really well as we continue to define our brand. This is a breakout year for Ovation. We’re taking our programming to a whole new level.”

There’s also a new art-oriented series from Studio Lambert currently in development. The Art Factory follows the crazy, charismatic husband and wife team behind Silver Hill Arts, the world’s top architectural arts studio.