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First Union Announces $1.2 Million Grant to Sponsor PBS' Most Popular Prime-time Series Antiques Roadshow CHARLOTTE - What does the last luncheon menu from the Titanic have in common with a slightly damaged acoustic guitar that was signed and smashed in concert by Jimi Hendrix? Both will be featured in the 1999 season of Antiques Roadshow, being brought to you in part by the show's newest national sponsor, First Union Corporation. Like Antiques Roadshow -- the overnight success story that became PBS' most popular prime-time series in only its second season -- First Union is a relative newcomer to national TV. The company launched its first national advertising campaign in September, and this is its first national PBS sponsorship. First Union will underwrite the show with a $1.2 million grant. First Union, one of the 15 largest financial services companies in the world, will begin its sponsorship when the new season begins Jan. 18, 1999. Produced for PBS by WGBH Boston, Antiques Roadshow will be sponsored in part by "First Union: Your Guide to the Financial World." Parra Vaughan, First Union senior vice president of marketing communications, said the show's emergence as the new leader in PBS ratings fits well with the theme of First Union's new brand building campaign. One of the company's new commercials on network TV, for example, says, "Banks and investment firms of mountainous size have for decades ruled the land. Yet, high above the horizon, another mountain has risen. . . A mountain called First Union, whose 16 million customers make it the nation's eighth largest brokerage and sixth largest bank . . ." "First Union is very proud to sponsor this popular show," Vaughan said. "We haven't seen an overnight sensation on public television in years that has captured the imagination of Americans as quickly as Antiques Roadshow. This is a great opportunity not only for us to build awareness of the First Union brand, but also to support our nation's public broadcasting service." Antiques Roadshow is part adventure, part history lesson, part treasure hunt. Specialists from the country's leading auction houses - Butterfield & Butterfield, Christie's, William Doyle Galleries, Skinner and Sotheby's - together with independent dealers and appraisers from across the nation, travel across the country offering free appraisals of antiques and collectibles. Viewers watch as owners discover the history - and financial value - of family heirlooms, flea market bargains, and long-neglected items salvaged from attics and basements. Beginning in January, First Union will sponsor broadcasts of Roadshow's visits to Richmond, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Rochester, Houston, Louisville, Portland and Hartford. The visits were recorded during the summer of 1998. Charlotte-based First Union Corporation (NYSE:FTU) is a leading financial services company with assets of $235 billion at Sept. 30, 1998, and market capitalization that places it among the top 15 financial services companies in the world. Ranked as the nation's sixth largest bank and eighth largest brokerage, it serves 16 million customers who can access account information and purchase financial products at 2,400 retail offices, 3,400 automated teller machines, through the Internet at www.firstunion.com, or by calling First Union Direct at 1-800-MOUNTAIN. |
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