America Online to Premiere Exclusive, Original Vignettes Promoting The WB's And Warner Bros. Television's Hit Series 'Smallville'

Business Wire, April 28, 2003

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NEW YORK & BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 2003

The WB's "Smallville: Chloe Chronicles," to Air Exclusively on AOL

and AOL for Broadband

Beginning April 29 at AOL Keyword: Smallville

America Online, Warner Bros. Television and The WB Television Network have teamed up to create new AOL-exclusive original promotional programming surrounding The WB's and Warner Bros. Television's hit series "Smallville." This series of two- to four-minute episodic video segments will focus on Clark Kent's friend Chloe Sullivan (played by Allison Mack) as she investigates suspicious happenings around the town of Smallville. Beginning April 29 and continuing through May 20, a new "Chloe Chronicles" video will launch each week on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. (ET), immediately following "Smallville" on The WB. These vignettes, best viewed through AOL for Broadband, can only be seen on AOL Television at AOL Keyword: Smallville.

The "Chloe Chronicles" video segments will follow the curious Chloe as she tries to solve the mysteries of Smallville--featuring events that are related to the show's plot line, including hidden messages and clues to upcoming episodes. This "companion programming" is designed to give viewers further insight into the plot and characters of "Smallville," adding an additional layer to the mythology in each of the weekly episodes.

"We're delighted to team with Warner Bros. Television and The WB to offer this 'Smallville' content to our members," said Patricia Karpas, Vice President and General Manager, AOL Television. "This type of high-quality companion programming is at the heart of our mission -- to offer AOL and AOL for Broadband members unique and compelling ways to experience their favorite television shows. This is also an exciting example of how AOL Television can help networks tap into and build loyal audiences for their shows."

Added Lisa Gregorian, Senior Vice President, Television, Warner Bros. Marketing Services, "The 'Chloe Chronicles' are a great way for Warner Bros. Television to extend the 'Smallville' experience and to complement the intriguing, compelling stories established by the series' executive producers Al Gough and Miles Millar. Our goal is to create companion programming that offers new and exciting ways to engage the audience, just as music videos did for record promotion."

Suzanne Kolb, Executive Vice President, Marketing, The WB, said, "The WB is always looking for new and innovative ways to promote our shows. The partnership with Warner Bros. Television and AOL presents a great way to increase viewer investment in 'Smallville.'"

This project represents the latest collaboration between AOL Television, Warner Bros. Television and The WB supporting "Smallville." Most recently, AOL Television celebrated Christopher Reeve's guest appearance on "Smallville" with online companion features that provided added insight into Reeve's character--including an exclusive sneak peek of the fictional Time magazine cover and article seen in the show in which Reeve's character was honored as "Man of the Year." The companies also teamed up for a sweepstakes in which the winner would be "drawn in" to an upcoming D.C. Comics "Smallville" comic book. In addition, AOL Television offered an exclusive message from villain Lionel Luthor to the residents of Smallville that couldn't be seen anywhere else.

With realistic portrayals and state-of-the-art special effects, "Smallville" reinterprets the Superman mythology from its roots. "Smallville" stars Tom Welling as Clark Kent, Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang, Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor, Sam Jones III as Pete Ross, Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan, John Glover as Lionel Luthor with Annette O'Toole as Martha Kent and John Schneider as Jonathan Kent. The series was developed for television by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar ("Shanghai Knights"), based on the DC Comics characters. The executive producers are Gough and Millar, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins, Joe Davola and Ken Horton. Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. "Smallville" airs Tuesdays (9-10 p.m. ET/PT) on The WB Network and is produced by Tollin/Robbins Productions and Warner Bros. Television.

About AOL Entertainment /America Online, Inc.

AOL Entertainment, a part of America Online, Inc., delivers a wide range of programming, products and services across the entertainment spectrum including games, movies, music, radio, sports, television, and ticketing. AOL Entertainment provides unique and compelling ways for the Internet's largest and most engaged audience to experience exclusive premieres, get the latest news and reviews, access their favorite celebrities and even behind-the-scenes, and interact with fans from around the world. AOL Entertainment provides programming to AOL's flagship service, Broadband service, and leading web properties. America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: AOL). Based in Dulles, Virginia, America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.