History's FULL METAL JOUSTING to Premiere 2/12

HISTORY and the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) are teaming up to introduce America to one of history's original extreme sports: jousting. The partnership will bring live jousting exhibitions to Professional Bull Riders events in New York and Anaheim, Calif., in January as part of the promotional run-up to the launch of HISTORY's new series, FULL METAL JOUSTING, premiering Sunday, February 12 at 10 p.m.

FULL METAL JOUSTING's month-long campaign includes six PBR events across the country, highlighted by live demonstrations during intermissions in New York's Madison Square Garden Invitational on Jan. 7 and at the Anaheim Invitational at the Honda Center on Jan.14. Each exhibition will kick off during intermission with a video introduction and commentary from renowned jouster and FULL METAL JOUSTING host Shane Adams. The exhibition will pit two experienced jousters against one another, as they take three to five passes at each other, attempting to de-horse their opponent.

"America's newest extreme sport is also the oldest in history," said Chris Meador, VP consumer marketing for HISTORY. "We are thrilled to partner with PBR to offer fans an inside look at a live, heart-pounding jousting experience. PBR is providing us the perfect environment to introduce FULL METAL JOUSTING to their audience of extreme sport enthusiasts."

"We're excited to welcome HISTORY's Full Metal Jousting to our growing family of marketing partners," said Jim Haworth, CEO of the Professional Bull Riders. "We hope that PBR fans nationwide will embrace 'the original extreme sport' as they do bull riding. We look forward to kicking off the 2012 PBR Built Ford Tough Series with HISTORY's involvement and can't wait to experience live jousting at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Jan. 7."

FULL METAL JOUSTING will also have a promotional presence at PBR events in Portland, Ore., on Jan. 21-22; Sacramento, Calif., on Jan. 28-29; Baltimore on Feb. 3-4; and Oklahoma City on Feb. 10-12. In those markets, HISTORY will engage attendees through a promotional booth featuring an interactive contest. Participants will be timed as they test their strength attempting to hold an authentic, nine-foot, seven-pound lance parallel in front of them.

In addition to the in-arena presence at Professional Bull Riders events, FULL METAL JOUSTING also will be featured in a variety of broadcast elements, including nationally televised 30-second commercial spots, vignettes produced from in-arena jousting footage and on-air mentions during PBR Built Ford Tough Series broadcasts on NBC and CBS in January and February.

About FULL METAL JOUSTING

The collision sport of jousting was an extreme sport centuries before anyone coined the term. HISTORY is bringing it back and transforming it into a 21st century event, pitting the toughest riders in the nation in a bone-crushing competition for big money. It's as intense as it was 500 years ago, but with a new twist. Traditional armor is replaced by modern suits of steel and action is captured by high-speed cameras, like in a marquee sporting event. Each episode features full-contact jousts where jousters charge and collide at 30 miles per hour.

About Professional Bull Riders Inc.

The PBR is the world's premier bull riding organization. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the PBR. In just two decades, the dream of 20 bull riders has become a global sports phenomenon that is televised worldwide. More than 100 million viewers annually watch over 400 hours of primetime PBR programming on networks around the world including CBS and CBS Sports Network. The PBR has awarded over $100 million in prize money and 21 riders have earned over $1 million, including Justin McBride with $5.5 million -- the most of any western sports athlete in history. Nearly two million fans attend Built Ford Tough Series and Touring Pro Division events each year. For more information on the PBR, go to www.pbr.com, or follow on Facebook.

About HISTORY

HISTORY(R) and HISTORY(R) HD are the leading destinations for revealing, award-winning original non-fiction series and event specials that connect history with viewers in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. Programming covers a diverse variety of historical genres ranging from military history to contemporary history, technology to natural history, as well as science, archaeology and pop culture. Among the network's program offerings are hit series such as American Pickers, Ax Men, American Restoration, Ice Road Truckers, Top Gear, Pawn Stars and Top Shot, as well as acclaimed specials including Vietnam in HD, Gettysburg, America the Story of Us, WWII in HD, 102 Minutes That Changed America. HISTORY has earned four Peabody Awards, eleven Primetime Emmy(R) Awards, 12 News & Documentary Emmy(R) Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History(R) campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. Take a Veteran to School Day is the network's signature initiative connecting America's schools and communities with veterans from all wars. The HISTORY website, located at www.history.com, is the leading online resource for all things history, featuring over 20,000 videos, images, audio clips, articles and interactive features that allow visitors to dig deeper into a broad range of thousands of historical topics.

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