Spike TV Signs On With Super Agent Premiering July 22  4/18/05

Spike TV Signs On With 'Super Agent' Premiering July 22 All American College Football Player Shaun Cody To Decide Between Nine Sports Agents To Represent Him

NFL Superstar Tony Gonzalez To Serve as Host

NEW YORK, April 18 /PRNewswire/ -- USC All American defensive lineman Shaun Cody is asking for an NFL team to 'show him the money.' Fortunately, he has NFL All-Pro Tony Gonzalez and Spike TV to help. Cody, a future millionaire and blue-chip NFL draft pick will decide between nine prominent sports agents angling to represent him in Super Agent, a new, original eight-episode series on Spike TV premiering Friday, July 22 (10:00 - 11:00pm ET/PT).

Gonzalez, the Kansas City Chiefs' future Hall of Fame tight end, will serve as host and provide council to Cody as he puts the nine agents through a litany of challenges and tasks to ultimately represent him.

"This series lifts the curtain on the intriguing decision-making process top athletes go through in deciding on an agent," said Kevin Kay, Executive Vice President, Programming and Production, Spike TV.

The tasks the various agents will be judged will showcase their skills in negotiating deals, evaluating football talent, and handling personal relationships with friends and families. From the sidelines of the Senior Bowl, to Super Bowl hospitality tents, to Cody's living room in Hacienda, CA, Spike TV's cameras will follow the agents in their quest to land the multi-million dollar client.

In each episode, a different agent who fails to impress Cody in the assigned task will be eliminated. Gonzalez will serve as his trusted advisor and mentor through the process and will be on hand in each episode to share his eight years of NFL experience in dealing with agents with his younger neophyte. The winning agent is selected on the final episode. The series culminates on the NFL Draft Day as Cody receives the most anticipated call of his life -- from his new NFL team.

"The most critical business decision a college athlete makes when becoming a professional athlete is choosing his agent," adds Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, has spent his entire eight-year career with the Kansas City Chiefs and is regarded as the game's preeminent tight end. In 2004, he became the first tight end in NFL history to record over 100 receptions in one season. Gonzalez grew up in Huntington Beach, CA and was the rare athlete to play both Division I football and basketball at the University of California at Berkeley.

Jack Bechta, Josh Ripple, and Tami Holzman created the show for NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution and are executive producers. Rick DeOliveira also serves as executive producer and James DuBose and Brian Keith Etheridge are co-executive producers.

Jordan Harman serves as Executive in Charge of Production for Spike TV.

Spike TV, the first network for men, is available in 87 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), owns and operates the following television programming services -- MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, mtvU, VH1. NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, MTV INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 12 digital services, all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide. 

SOURCE Spike TV

-0- 04/18/2005