MURPHY BROWN to Receive TV Land's 'Impact Award'

TV Land announced today that the cast and show creator behind the cutting-edge and witty CBS series, MURPHY BROWN - Candice Bergen, Faith Ford, Joe Regalbuto, Charles Kimbrough, Grant Shaud and Diane English - will be honored with the Impact Award at the "TV Land Awards" 10th Anniversary celebration, taping Saturday, April 14 at the Lexington Avenue Armory at Gramercy Park in New York City. Previously announced honorees include "In Living Color" (which now includes former Fly Girl Carrie Ann Inaba), "Laverne & Shirley," "One Day At A Time," "Pee-wee's Playhouse" and Aretha Franklin. The "TV Land Awards" 10th Anniversary will air on Sunday, April 29 at 9pm ET/PT.

Additionally, TV Land announced presenters for the show, including esteemed journalist and news anchor Katie Couric and actress Fran Drescher, who will be on hand to pay homage to some of television and music's biggest stars. More presenters will be announced in the coming days. In addition, three-time GRAMMY(R) Award-nominated music group The B-52s will set the mood for the evening, rocking out as the house band for the 10th anniversary show.

"Murphy Brown," the recipient of this year's Impact Award, infused hot topic current events and shined a light on real-life career and personal issues. The revolutionary show starred Emmy(R) and Golden Globe(R) Award-winning actress Candice Bergen as title character Murphy Brown, a reporter for successful primetime news show "FYI." With the help of her friends and co-workers - Frank Fontana (Joe Regalbuto), Corky Sherwood (Faith Ford), Jim Dial (Charles Kimbrough) and Miles Silverberg (Grant Shaud) - Murphy was a star journalist who truly had it all, even becoming a single mother later in the series. The show created some of the most memorable episodes with help from guest stars and fellow "TV Land Awards" honorees and presenters Aretha Franklin and Katie Couric. "Murphy Brown" aired on CBS from 1988 to 1998.

The "TV Land Awards" pays tribute to classic and contemporary luminaries of television, music and movies. The 90-minute telecast hosted by Kelly Ripa will feature exhilarating musical performances and will reunite some of the most iconic celebrity TV casts.

Previous honorees include Regis Philbin, Michael J. Fox, John Travolta, Bill Cosby, Mike Myers, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Garry Marshall, the cast of "Glee," "Desperate Housewives" and the hilarious sitcoms "Cheers," "The Cosby Show," "Family Ties," "The Facts of Life," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Bosom Buddies," "Welcome Back, Kotter," "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "M*A*S*H." Past presenters include Academy Award(C)-winner Halle Berry, Barbara Walters, Justin Timberlake, Ray Romano, Steve Carell, Billy Crystal, Sharon Stone, Robin Williams and Academy Award(C)-nominee Robert Downey, Jr., to name a few. Past musical performers include Liza Minnelli, Stevie Wonder, Blondie, Diana Ross, Willie Nelson and Lionel Richie.

Michael Levitt ("Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List," "Billboard Music Awards," "Scream Awards") is executive producer; Five-time Emmy Award(C)-winning Glenn Weiss is director ("Primetime Emmy Awards," "BET Awards," "The Tony Awards"); Greg Sills serves as supervising producer ("VH1 Rock Honors," "The Teen Choice Awards," "Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards"); Gary Tellalian is producer and TV Land's Larry W. Jones and Casey Patterson are executive producers. Tim Bruno is executive in charge of production for TV Land.

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About TV Land

TV Land is the programming destination featuring the best in entertainment on all platforms for consumers in their 40s and 50s. Consisting of original programming, classic and contemporary television series acquisitions, hit movies and a full-service Web site, TV Land is now seen in over 98 million U.S. homes.

About Viacom

Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB) is home to the world's premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms in more than 160 countries and territories. With approximately 170 media networks reaching more than 600 million global subscribers, Viacom's leading brands include MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, BET, CENTRIC, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Nicktoons, Nick at Nite, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV Land, Spike TV and Tr3s. Paramount Pictures, America's oldest film studio and creator of many of the most beloved motion pictures, continues today as a major global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. Viacom operates a large portfolio of branded digital media experiences, including many of the world's most popular properties for entertainment, community and casual online gaming.

For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com

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