• July 1, 2003

NBC and ShopNBC announced Tuesday a joint agreement to test launch Shop & Style, a one-hour live shopping program on the NBC owned-and-operated stations in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Philadelphia. The series begins Aug. 4 and will air weekdays at 11 a.m. in New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco and at 10 a.m. in Chicago. "Shop & Style" will feature celebrity guests and contributors including home and garden experts, top restaurant chefs, and style editors and trend watchers from major magazines. The program will be taped from several locations, including the NBC studios in Rockefeller Center, the outdoor plaza in front of the "Today" studio, on location in the four markets where the show will air, as well as ShopNBC's studios. Due to the time zone difference in San Francisco, "Shop & Style" will be aired in that market on a tape delay. Throughout the program, which will be simulcast on both ShopNBC and the NBC owned-and-operated stations, viewers will have the opportunity to purchase merchandise by phoning in their orders or purchasing items online at ShopNBC.com. The program will offer must-have products at tremendous value from a wide range of categories, such as apparel and accessories, home and cooking, cosmetics, jewelry and fitness. Popular brands to be featured include Benefit cosmetics, Jones apparel, Karen Kane, Nine West and Bandalino shoes, Cuisinart, Wustof Trident, Reebok treadmills, and Champion Clothing.

"This is a very exciting commerce programming initiative, bringing to bear the talents and expertise of both companies as well as the synergies between NBC's broadcast audience and our home shopping audience," said Gene McCaffery, chairman and CEO of ValueVision Media, which owns and operates ShopNBC.