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Stuart Snyder to Head Turner Broadcasting Animation, Young Adults & Kids Media Division

Posted on: Wednesday, 2 May 2007, 15:00 CDT

Stuart Snyder has been named to lead Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.'s newly aligned portfolio of cable networks, digital properties and entertainment businesses for kids and young adults, it was announced today by Mark Lazarus, president of Turner Entertainment Group. As executive vice president and chief operating officer of Animation, Young Adults & Kids Media, Snyder will oversee Turner assets including the cable television networks Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Adult Swim; the digital businesses Cartoonnetwork.com, AdultSwim.com, Toonami Jetstream, Cartoon Network Video, GameTap and Super Deluxe; and two animation production facilities: Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank and Williams Street Studios in Atlanta.

In addition, Snyder will work closely with Turner Broadcasting System International on programming strategies for Cartoon Network Asia Pacific, Cartoon Network Europe, Cartoon Network Latin America & Caribbean and Cartoon Network Japan. Snyder is based in Atlanta at Turner's Techwood entertainment campus and reports to Lazarus.

"Building a new operating structure around our company's animation and digital entertainment assets and positioning Stu at its head signals the opportunity we see among kids and young adults, and our intention to more aggressively play in that marketplace," said Lazarus. "Stu is a builder with a great track record for defining and programming to targeted audiences. In Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and now GameTap and Super Deluxe, he and his team have brands and platforms to leverage in creative, strategic new ways."

"The brands and businesses that comprise the new Animation, Young Adults & Kids Media group represent pure potential," said Snyder. "With the on-air and online platforms, original and classic animation, games, comedy and production capabilities at our disposal, we can and will engage highly desirable consumers with the most innovative and valuable targeted entertainment experiences available. I know firsthand what this company and the people here can do, and I'm excited about what we'll accomplish together."

Cartoon Network, Turner Broadcasting's flagship animation brand, is a global programming and merchandising powerhouse. Boomerang features classic Hanna-Barbera animation for young children and their parents. Adult Swim is the #1 ad-supported cable network in total day with young adult audiences, and Cartoonnetwork.com is among the top 10 entertainment sites on the Web. GameTap, Turner's broadband games network, currently offers more than 850 games for subscriber download and more than 600 original videos. Super Deluxe is a broadband comedy network and online community that launched early this year. Turner's animation studio facilities have produced some 450 half-hours of original animation to date.

Snyder rejoined Turner Broadcasting in 2005 as senior vice president and general manager of GameTap. Earlier, he was president and CEO of CINAR Corporation, an animation, live-action and education production/distribution company based in Montreal. Snyder and the CINAR management team executed a successful turnaround strategy and dramatically increased shareholder value.

Snyder served as president and COO of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., the television and sports entertainment franchise, where he directed the day-to-day operations of the company and played a key role in developing original programming including film and television projects such as Universal Pictures' The Scorpion King and MTV's Tough Enough. He was president of USA Home Entertainment, where he oversaw the marketing and release of the critically acclaimed film Being John Malkovich and was part of the management team that green-lit the Academy Award-winning film Traffic. He also served as president and COO of Feld Entertainment, whose franchises included Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey and Disney on Ice. Prior to that, Snyder led Turner Broadcasting's home entertainment division and held executive positions at Live Home Video and MGM/UA Home Entertainment.

Snyder is an alumnus of Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. He was chosen to represent Turner Broadcasting on the board of directors of myvu, the leading supplier of eyewear viewers for the portable electronics industry, and serves on the board of Turnstile Entertainment, a New York-based company that creates and produces family entertainment programming featuring popular brands.

Cartoon Network, currently seen in more than 91 million U.S. homes and 160 countries around the world, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.'s 24-hour ad-supported cable service offering the best in animated entertainment. Drawing from the world's largest cartoon library, Cartoon Network showcases unique original ventures such as Camp Lazlo, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Codename: Kids Next Door, Teen Titans, The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory and Ed, Edd n Eddy. Cartoon Network also features Adult Swim, a late-night block of animation for grown-ups. Cartoon Network's Web site is located at Cartoonnetwork.com (AOL Keyword: Cartoon Network).

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and a leading provider of programming to the basic cable industry.

Source: Business Wire

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