ABC Family To Present Basic Cable Premieres Of <i>Harry Potter</i> Films In Deal With Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution

(September 26, 2008 – Burbank, CA) – ABC Family has acquired a slate of movies that will make their basic cable premieres on the network in a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (WBDTD), it was announced today by Tom Zappala, Senior Vice President, Program Acquisitions & Scheduling, ABC Family. The package features the two most recent films from the popular Harry Potter franchise – the upcoming “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and 2007’s “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” – giving ABC Family the first position window for basic cable for all six Harry Potter films to date. The deal also includes the Academy Award®-winning film “Happy Feet” and “Nancy Drew.” “The Harry Potter films are among ABC Family’s highest-rated theatricals,” said Zappala. ”We're thrilled with the addition of these titles to our library.” “We’ve had a long and successful relationship with ABC Family as the cable home of the Harry Potter franchise. We are happy to extend this relationship to include the two latest installments and, as importantly, two new family-oriented films in ‘Happy Feet’ and ‘Nancy Drew,’” said Ken Werner, President, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” will premiere on ABC Family in 2010, and “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (due out in theaters worldwide in July 2009) will make its basic cable debut on ABC Family in 2012. From Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Richard Griffiths, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith, Imelda Staunton, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson and Julie Walters. The film was directed by David Yates and produced by David Heyman and David Barron. Michael Goldenberg wrote the screenplay, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling. From Warner Bros. Pictures and Heyday Films, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis and Julie Walters. The film was directed by David Yates and produced by David Heyman and David Barron. Steve Kloves wrote the screenplay, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling. “Happy Feet” will make its basic cable premiere on ABC Family in 2009. The film features the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving and Anthony LaPaglia; boasts the tap dancing of Savion Glover and a Golden Globe-winning original song from Prince; was one of the highest-grossing movies of movies of 2006; and went on to win the Academy Award® for Animated Feature Film. From Warner Bros. Pictures, “Happy Feet” is directed by George Miller, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Collee, Judy Morris and Warren Coleman. The film is produced by Doug Mitchell, George Miller and Bill Miller. “Nancy Drew” – starring Emma Roberts, Josh Flitter, Max Thieriot, Rachael Leigh Cook and Tate Donovan – will premiere on ABC Family in 2010. From Warner Bros. Pictures in association with Virtual Studios, “Nancy Drew” is directed by Andrew Fleming and produced by Jerry Weintraub. The screenplay is by Andrew Fleming and Tiffany Paulsen, from a story by Tiffany Paulsen, based on characters created by Carolyn Keene. Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (WBDTD) is one of the leading suppliers of entertainment programming to the domestic television marketplace, distributing first-run syndicated series, off-network television programs and theatrical motion pictures to local broadcast television stations, as well as to pay, cable, satellite and broadcast networks throughout the U.S. WBDTD handles the domestic distribution of television series produced by Warner Bros. Television, Telepictures Productions, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Horizon Television; selected HBO Independent Productions and the Lorimar Television library; current feature films from Warner Bros. Pictures; and the Studio’s unmatched motion picture library. Part of the Disney-ABC-TV Group, ABC Family, distributed in over 95 million homes, features original movies, series and specials reflecting today’s families and entertaining and connecting with adults through relevant stories about today’s relationships, all told with diversity, dysfunction, passion, humor and heart. ABC Family’s programming is a mix of quality acquired series and theatricals as well as original movies and scripted dramas. ABC Family is also the destination for Holiday events with “13 Nights of Halloween” and “25 Days of Christmas” branded programming events. ABC Family. A New Kind of Family. # # #