Do You Have What It Takes to Be the Next Shop At Home TV Host?

Business Wire, August 17, 2005

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Nashville-Based Television Retailer Holds Open Casting Call to Discover New Talent

Do you have what it takes to be a national television personality? If so, one of the nation's top home shopping outlets -- Shop At Home Network -- is giving you the chance of a lifetime to prove it.

On Friday, August 26, the Nashville-based television retailer is holding a one-day-only casting call in search of new on-air talent. Auditions will begin at 8 a.m. at the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville, Tenn. Only the first 150 people in line will be admitted to the audition, so participants should plan to arrive early, and be prepared to make a lasting impression.

Shop At Home television hosts sell a diverse range of quality merchandise -- including cookware, electronics, jewelry, cosmetics and skin care lines -- to more than 50 million U.S. households each day. So network executives are searching for well-rounded individuals with personality, camera presence, sophistication, quick thinking skills and communication savvy. No professional experience is required.

"Open casting calls are an exciting, out-of-the-box way to attract fresh, new talent," Steve Bryant, vice president of talent for Shop At Home. A current on-air host for the network, Bryant began his own career in retail television through an audition at an open casting call.

"I encourage anyone interested to show up and test their skills," said Bryant, "as the number of positions available at Shop At Home will be determined by the number of quality applicants. We remain very open to possibilities throughout this process."

Participants are asked to bring a small consumer product to the audition, and be prepared to sell that product to a panel of judges with a five-minute retail pitch. Auditions will be critiqued on energy level, ability to connect with the viewer, and a grasp of the product's key selling features. Participants advancing to the second round of the selection process will be given a surprise product and asked to market the item to the judging panel. Aspiring Shop At Home Network hosts should be at least 18 years of age and eligible for full-time work.

About Shop At Home

Shop At Home is a nationally televised home shopping service that sells merchandise through interactive electronic media, including broadcast, cable satellite television and the Internet (shopathometv.com). Shop At Home produces programming in digital format at its facilities in Nashville, Tennessee and has a full-time distribution to 53 million households through nearly 500 affiliated television, cable and direct broadcast satellite systems, including DIRECTV (Channel 234), DISH Network (Channel 224), and on Nashville's Comcast channel 74.

Shop At Home is a property of Scripps Networks, which is headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, and Nashville, Scripps Networks is the leading developer of lifestyle-oriented content for television and the Internet, including Home & Garden Television (HGTV), Food Network, DIY Network, FINE LIVING and country music network Great American Country (GAC). Scripps Networks is owned by The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP), a diverse media concern with interests in newspaper publishing, broadcast television, national television networks, interactive media, and television retailing. Scripps operates 21 daily newspapers, 10 broadcast TV stations, Scripps Howard News Service, United Media and Shopzilla.com.

Sheraton Music City Hotel
777 McGavock Pike
Nashville, Tennessee 37214
Phone: (615) 885-2200