2009-11-30 18:42:57 -

The weather outside is frightful so come in and gather round as ION Television presents Big Movie Weekend Cheer, an entire weekend devoted to holiday themed movies. Led by the broadcast premiere of the award-winning documentary “March of the Penguins,” the weekend is also highlighted by the premiere of the Network’s first original film “A Golden Christmas.” The new programming block, which airs Saturday, December 12 through Sunday, December 13, was announced today by Leslie Chesloff, Executive Vice President, Programming, ION Media Networks.

“It’s great to be able to offer our viewers this wonderful combination of a critical and box office theatrical hit, a brand new original production and proven audience winners,” said Chesloff. “This is exactly the kind of programming

mix we have been promising and it’s just a preview of what’s in store for 2010.”


The Big Movie Weekend Cheer line-up kicks off with the television film “The Christmas Clause,” the story of a stressed out working mom who gets her yuletide wish to change her life.
Starring Lea Thompson (“Back to the Future”), the film airs Saturday, December 12 at 3:00 PM, ET (encores Sunday, December 13 at 5:00 PM, ET). The TV movie “Christmas Town,” starring Nicole de Boer (“Dead Zone”) and Patrick Muldoon (“Starship Troopers”) is the story of a woman who travels to Christmas Town to visit her estranged father and gets caught up in a weird and intense Christmas spirit. It airs Saturday, December 12 at 5:00 PM, ET (encore airs Sunday, December 13 at 3:00 PM, ET).

Next up is the broadcast television premiere of the Academy Award winning box office hit “March of the Penguins.” Directed by Luc Jacquet, the acclaimed documentary is a remarkable a look at the annual journey of the Emperor Penguins, as they march to their traditional breeding ground. Situated in the pitiless ice deserts of Antarctica, the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, the film chronicles a truly remarkable journey that takes place as it has done for millennia. “March of the Penguins” airs Saturday, December 12 at 7:00 PM, ET (encores air Saturday, December 12 at 9:00 PM, ET and Sunday, December 13 at 7:00 PM, ET).


The weekend concludes with the primetime premiere of the ION Television’s first original film production “A Golden Christmas” which airs on Sunday, December 13 at 9:00 PM, ET. “A Golden Christmas” stars Andrea Roth (“Rescue Me”), Jason London (“Dazed and Confused”), Nicholas Brendon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Bruce Davison (“Ghost Whisperer,” “Longtime Companion”), Elisa Donovan (“Sabrina, The Teenage Witch”) and Alley Mills (“The Wonder Years,” “The Bold and the Beautiful”). “A Golden Christmas” is the funny and heartwarming story of a recently widowed mother (Andrea Roth) who moves back to her parent’s old house with the intention of buying it. However things change dramatically when she discovers the house has already been sold – to a man she once cared deeply about when they were both still kids.



About ION Television

ION Television ( www.iontelevision.com : ) is a general entertainment network which reaches over 96 million U.S.

television households via its nationwide broadcast television, cable and satellite distribution systems. Launched in 2006, ION Television features popular TV series and movies from the award-winning libraries of CBS Television, NBC Universal, Twentieth Television and Warner Bros.
Parent company, ION Media Networks, Inc., owns and operates the nation's largest broadcast television station group. Using its digital multicasting capability, ION Media Networks has launched the digital TV brands qubo, a channel for children focusing on literacy and values, and ION Life, a channel dedicated to active living and personal growth. It also has launched Open Mobile Ventures Corporation (OMVION), a business unit focused on the research and development of portable, mobile and out-of-home transmission technology using over-the-air digital television spectrum. For more information, visit www.ionmedia.com : .



ION TelevisionAmelie Tseng, 973-897-8868 amelie.tseng@verizon.net : mailto:amelie.tseng@verizon.net orSayles
& Winnikoff CommunicationsAlan Winnikoff, 212-725-5200 x111 alan@sayleswinnikoff.com : mailto:alan@sayleswinnikoff.com orCarina
Sayles, 212-725-5200 x210 carina@sayleswinnikoff.com : mailto:carina@sayleswinnikoff.com