Network President Albie Hecht Announces TNN To Change Its Name June 16

              Network Will Unveil New Logo At MTVN Upfront May 6

    NEW YORK, April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- In a conference call today with
national consumer, trade and business media, network president Albie Hecht
announced that TNN: The National Network will be re-named Spike TV, reflecting
its new brand positioning as the first network for men. The name change will
take effect on-air on Monday, June 16, and the network's new logo will be
unveiled at the MTV Networks upfront presentation in New York City on Tuesday,
May 6.
    "Today the first network for men has a name, and its Spike TV," Hecht said
in making the announcement. "Spike TV captures the attributes and essence of
what we want the first network for men to be. It's unapologetically male; it's
active; it's smart and contemporary with a personality that's aggressive and
irreverent. It's a name we feel our audience will get and make a connection
with. I like Spike! This is a first major step in our journey to super-serving
men in a way no one has done before."
    Mr. Hecht made the announcement of the new name during a conference call
in which he announced the network's first slate of male-skewing programming,
which included partnerships with Men's Health magazine, CBS MarketWatch, as
well as a schedule of new series and specials geared to appealing to the wide
range of men's entertainment interests.
    Added Herb Scannell, President, Nickelodeon, TV Land and Spike TV, "When
we decided use our near 65% male audience skew and become the first network
for men, we knew we needed a name that was a strong statement of what this
brand will be. Spike TV is going to be a great addition to our portfolio of
channels and will laser in on its target male demo and serve them the way
Nickelodeon serves kids and TV Land serves classic TV lovers."
    The re-naming of the channel will be supported by a multi-million dollar
awareness campaign that will include on-air, outdoor and print advertising.
For programming listing guides, Spike TV will utilize the abbreviation SPIKE.
    Spike TV, the first network for men, is available in 86 million homes and
is a division of MTV Networks. MTV Networks owns and operates the cable
television programming services MTV: Music Television, MTV2, Nickelodeon/Nick
at Nite, TV Land, VH1, CMT: Country Music Television, and Spike TV, as well as
The Digital Suite from MTV Networks, a package of thirteen digital services,
all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also operates and
offers joint ventures, licensing agreements and syndication deals whereby its
programming can be seen worldwide.

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