Hinder Remakes Rock Classic ''Born To Be Wild'' for TNT's 2007 NASCAR Coverage

Turner Network Television (TNT) announced today that they have teamed with multi-platinum rockers Hinder to remake Steppenwolf's classic hit single "Born to be Wild" as the network's beat-driven anthem to promote its 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series coverage. The song will serve as the primary musical bed for all six of TNT's races, as well as for the network's multiplatform marketing campaign surrounding its exclusive race coverage. To accompany Hinder's cover of the rock-and-roll classic, the network is also producing a full-length music video of the song for the band that will debut exclusively on the Turner-operated Web site NASCAR.COM on June 6.

ATLANTA (BusinessWire EON) May 2, 2007 -- Turner Network Television (TNT) announced today that they have teamed with multi-platinum rockers Hinder to remake Steppenwolf’s classic hit single “Born to be Wild” as the network’s beat-driven anthem to promote its 2007 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series coverage. The song will serve as the primary musical bed for all six of TNT’s races, as well as for the network’s multiplatform marketing campaign surrounding its exclusive race coverage. To accompany Hinder’s cover of the rock-and-roll classic, the network is also producing a full-length music video of the song for the band that will debut exclusively on the Turner-operated Web site NASCAR.COM on June 6.

When we were considering which music would anchor our NASCAR on TNT promos, we wanted to find a song that we thought would immediately resonate with NASCAR fans, and a band whose sound exemplified the muscle and energy of NASCAR

“When we were considering which music would anchor our NASCAR on TNT promos, we wanted to find a song that we thought would immediately resonate with NASCAR fans, and a band whose sound exemplified the muscle and energy of NASCAR,” said Craig Barry, Turner Sports VP/Creative Director. “Hinder is a true rock band on the rise. They have the sound and cross-over appeal that we were looking for to help us promote the high-energy and excitement of NASCAR on TNT.”

Hinder gained much attention with their 2006 ballad “Lips of an Angel,” the band's breakthrough single from their first album titled Extreme Behavior. In addition to topping the Billboard Pop 100 chart, the single climbed as high as the third spot on both Billboard’s Hot 100 and Mainstream Rock charts. The band is once again rising on the charts with their follow-up single, “Better than Me.”

From the full-length, hard-driving music video, Turner will produce several shorter spots in 30, 60 and/or 90-second lengths, as well as a three-minute version cut with NASCAR action highlights to serve as the feature NASCAR on TNT on-air promo. In addition, NASCAR.COM’s 24/7 Live host Riki Rachtman, formerly of MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball, will host a 15-minute behind-the-scenes look at the making of the video exclusively for the Web site. The spots will begin running on the network on June 6.

Please place link in Web browser for access to images and song: ftp://cssu3:turnersp0rts@turnerftp.turner.com

TNT begins their six consecutive weeks of NASCAR Nextel Cup Series racing on June 10 with the Pocono 500, live from Pocono Raceway (Pennsylvania). The network’s complete 2007 schedule is as follows:

Previous musical pairings with TNT for its sports programming include Jay-Z (NBA), Fort Minor (2006 NBA Playoffs), Pharrell (2006 NBA All-Star Game), The Rolling Stones (NASCAR) and Fatty Koo (2005 NBA Playoffs).

TNT, home of NASCAR programming for 22 consecutive years, will debut its highly-anticipated new NASCAR broadcast format, Wide Open Coverage, during the network’s primetime NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race-- the PEPSI 400-- on July 7 from Daytona International Speedway. Wide Open Racing will provide continuous race coverage free of national commercial breaks and will feature animated national sponsor messages, including original branded content and distinct on-screen graphic elements. Current sponsors for TNT’s debut of Wide Open Coverage include Pepsi, 360 OTC, Sprint, Toyota and DirecTV. The unique sponsor graphics and vignettes will appear along the lower portion of the screen in place of traditional commercial interruptions, limiting the telecast to only three local commercial breaks per hour. In addition, the landmark production features 22% more unobstructed race action than that of a standard telecast.

Turner Sports, Inc., a Time Warner company, presents some of the best and most popular sporting events worldwide and is a leader in televised sports programming. With events airing on TBS and TNT, Turner Sports’ line-up includes the NBA, NASCAR and NASCAR.COM, Major League Baseball, college football, professional golf, PGATour.com, PGA.com and ACC Select.

Turner Network Television (TNT), television’s destination for drama and one of cable’s top-rated networks, offers original movies and series, including the acclaimed detective drama The Closer, starring Emmy^®, Golden Globe^® and Screen Actors Guild Awards^® nominee Kyra Sedgwick; Saving Grace, a daring new drama starring Oscar^®-winner Holly Hunter; Heartland, a powerful medical drama with Treat Williams and Kari Matchett; and this summer’s eagerly anticipated television event The Company, executive-produced by Ridley Scott and starring Chris O’Donnell, Michael Keaton and Alfred Molina. TNT is also home to powerful one-hour dramas, such as Without a Trace, Law & Order, Las Vegas, Cold Case, ER, Charmed and Judging Amy; broadcast premiere movies; compelling prime-time specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards^®; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is also available in high-definition.