BITE TAKES FUNNY SERIOUSLY WITH NEW LOOK AND HIT COMEDY TV PROGRAMMING

Debuts October 22 in More Than 4.5 Million Homes Across Canada

TORONTO, Oct. 18 /CNW/ - Bite gets serious about being funny. The newly rebranded multi-platform TV channel debuts its new fall lineup starting Friday, October 22 at 7:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. PT), when it relaunches in over 4.5 million homes nationwide.  Bite's focus on rising stars and up-and-coming talent remains unchanged.  The Second City, Yuk Yuk's, Just for Laughs, and Edmonton's Caution: May Contain Nuts sketch troupe are set to inject a shot of Canadian comedy into Bite's award-winning mix of short-form programming. The new Bite embraces Canada's emerging comedy scene and is committed to developing and showcasing the country's top rising comedians.

"Our commitment to budding homegrown talent is a priority because it is part of the very fabric of who we are," said Jeffrey Elliott, Founder & President of BITE and Co-CEO of GlassBOX Television.  "Canada has such a rich pool of comedic talent, and our new programming mix highlights the rising stars alongside world-renowned comedy legends."

Cult hit It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia with Danny Devito, critically acclaimed Arrested Development with Michael Cera and Jason Bateman, British imports including the original call centre comedy, Mumbai Calling, and Rick Mercer's Made In Canada are part of Bite's prime time viewing.  The channel will also air Bite Box Office movies, sketch, stand-up, improv and specials, in addition to its short-form Funny Flow content.

"Comedy is the natural evolution of our brand." continues Elliott.  "For the past 5 years, we've featured sketch, stand-up, and improv, and those programming successes lead us to the decision to focus on comedy full time."

The network is also now geared to a more mature core audience of 18-49's who love to laugh.  Select markets across Canada get a free preview when the service debuts on Oct. 22.  GlassBOX Television received CRTC approval for an amendment to Bite's category 2 specialty television license this past June. Under the terms of the new license Bite can incorporate sitcoms and movies into its programming mix. Bite originally launched in April 2005 as a young male-focused and short-form specialty channel.

Bite officially unveils its new comedy programming lineup and channel rebrand in Toronto today.  Stay tuned to Bite and www.bite.ca for full details.

GlassBOX Television Inc. (www.glassbox.tv) is an integrated media company that owns and operates two Canadian specialty television networks: AUX TV (focused on music and music culture) and BITE TV (focused on satirical comedy shorts, sitcoms and movies).  The company's digital publishing division operates broadband portals, blogs, mobile sites and applications while representing the Canadian online advertising inventory of several major international brands.  GlassBOX wholly owns a production company subsidiary that produces over 150 hours of original television content each year.  Recently GlassBOX entered into an agreement to purchase 100% of the Travel & Escape channel from CTV.  The company's primary websites are glassbox.tv, aux.tv and bite.ca.

For further information:

Holly Cybulski
Cell:  647 405 7633
Office: 647 348 3468
[email protected]