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USA Network Taps TV Personality Nancy O'Dell to Host Nashville Star
Friday February 14, 5:16 pm ET
USA's Search For the Next Great Country Music Sensation Premieres on March 8, 2003
NEW YORK, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- USA Network announced that Access Hollywood's Nancy O'Dell will host their upcoming country music talent search, Nashville Star premiering on March 8th at 9:00 PM ET/PT.
"I have been a big fan of country music for a long time having grown up in South Carolina, so I am thrilled to be a part of Nashville Star," said Nancy O'Dell. "I am also honored to be the host of USA Network's unique approach to unscripted programming."
O'Dell currently co-anchors the nationally syndicated entertainment news program Access Hollywood. She has earned a reputation as one of Hollywood's leading entertainment journalists having hosted the live national Golden GlobesŪ Arrivals Show the past three years for NBC and The EmmysŪ Arrivals Show for ABC in 2000 and for Fox in 1999. This year, she co-hosted NBC's Golden GlobesŪ Post-Show and in 2002, co-hosted NBC's EmmysŪ Post-Show. In addition, she has been asked to co-host NBC's live network coverage of the Tournament of Roses Parade four years straight, beginning in 2000. Further, O'Dell hosts the nationally syndicated Access Hollywood Radio with Nancy O'Dell, a daily report offering the latest news from Hollywood. An award-winning journalist, O'Dell has been honored with three Associated Press Awards, two Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Awards and is a three-time Emmy Award nominee. O'Dell is represented by The William Morris Agency and Ken Lindner & Associates.
"We are elated to have a prominent talent of Nancy O'Dell's caliber on board helping to bring a greater level of exposure to Nashville Star," said Elizabeth Porter, VP Alternative Programming, USA Network. "She's warm and engaging and we know she will be a great voice for our show."
"Nancy is an incredible talent and genuine fan of country music," said Ben Silverman, CEO Reveille. "She is the perfect host for our dream maker event television show, Nashville Star."
Nashville Star, an upcoming television series produced by Reveille for USA Network, conducted a nation-wide grassroots search for the next great country music artist. After holding 48 local competitions and five regional finals in conjunction with radio stations across the country, Nashville Star narrowed the field from more than 8,000 applicants to twelve finalists who will compete against each other live every Saturday night from the Acuff Theater in Nashville. Over the nine-week run, audiences and the Nashville Star celebrity judges will choose one grand prizewinner who will receive a recording contract from Sony Music Nashville. The top twelve finalists will live together in a fully-wired Nashville house where cameras will record their day in and day out quest to become the next great country music sensation. For more information on Nashville Star, log on to http://www.usanetwork.com/nashvillestar .
Nashville Star is created and produced by Reveille, run by Ben Silverman. George Verschoor (Real World, Murder in Small Town X) and his production company, Hoosick Falls Productions, is executive producing in association with Reveille.
Reveille, a joint venture between Ben Silverman and Universal Television Group, develops, produces and distributes new and non-traditional programming formats for television and motion pictures across a variety of genres, including comedy, drama, game, and reality. In Television, Reveille develops projects for all of the broadcast and cable networks, including such current projects as, "The Restaurant," "Adrenaline X" and "Coupling" for NBC and "Nashville Star" on USA Network. Reveille also identifies integrated marketing opportunities for leading advertisers and develops alternative financing for films and television programs.
USA NETWORK
USA Network is cable television's leading provider of original series and feature movies, sports events, off-net television shows and blockbuster theatrical films. USA Network is available in 81% of all U.S. homes and is seen in nearly 87 million U.S. homes. The USA Network Web site is located at http://www.usanetwork.com .
USA Network is a program service of Universal Television Networks, part of the Universal Television Group, a division of Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUE) (www.universalstudios.com), the U.S.-based film, television and recreation entity of Vivendi Universal, a global media and communications company.
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