PRODUCTION STARTS ON TLC’S MEGA CARRIER: USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH
-TLC Takes an Exclusive Look at the Construction of the USS George H.W. Bush-

Newport News, VA – Mar. 17, 2004 – A monumental undertaking to build one of the largest and most powerful warships ever constructed has begun. The United States Navy and Northrop Grumman have joined forces to construct the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in honor of the former U.S. President. Mr. Bush was a Navy pilot in World War II and served as President of the United States from 1988-1992. Many Navy warships are named after former presidents; the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan has just been completed and a nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Jimmy Carter, is under construction.

TLC has exclusive access to this historic build. On March 22, 2004, the production team will begin documenting the unbelievable engineering involved in creating the mammoth warship, as well as capturing the stories of the teams taking part in the project. The resulting documentary, MEGA-CARRIER, a two-hour mini-series, will profile the working men and women who have come together to build the world’s newest and most technologically sophisticated aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush. The program will take viewers into the world of welders and engineers, technicians and craftsmen as we follow a six-year odyssey that will ultimately propel a mountain of steel into a marvel of mankind.

"Capturing this amazing process and documenting all of the incredible stories that will evolve over the next several years is an incredible opportunity to provide our viewers with an insight they would otherwise never have," said Roger Marmet, general manager, TLC. "We’re excited to be part of this project," said Scott Stabler, vice president for the CVN 77 Program at Northrop Grumman Newport News. "It will offer a rare opportunity to get a comprehensive view of the complexity involved in bringing a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to life and, more importantly, the lives of the talented men and women who design, build and test them."

MEGA-CARRIER is produced for TLC by Red Dog Entertainment. Michael Schlossman is executive producer for Red Dog and this is his sixth Pentagon-supported effort; Paul DonVito is executive producer for TLC. For more information about the ship, please visit www.nn.northropgrumman.com/bush.

Northrop Grumman Newport News, headquartered in Newport News, Va., is the nation's sole designer, builder, and refueler of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of only two companies capable of designing and building nuclear powered submarines. Newport News also provides after-market services for a wide array of naval and commercial vessels. The Newport News sector employs about 19,000 people.

TLC is the only television network that uses real-life storytelling to connect over 93 million viewers in North America to the breadth of the human experience. Discovery Networks, U.S., a unit of Discovery Communications, Inc., operates and manages the Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, the Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery HD Theater, Discovery Kids Channel, Discovery Times Channel, The Science Channel, Discovery Home & Leisure Channel, Discovery Wings Channel, Discovery en Espanol and Fit TV. The unit also distributes BBC America. Visit TLC on the web by going to www.discovery.com and clicking on TLC.

Contact:

Bronagh Hanley
The Learning Channel
240-662-2948
Bronagh_Hanley@discovery.com