Gray Television, Inc. Helps the University of Kentucky Men's Basketball Team Raise Donations for Haiti
February 03 2010 - 6:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
ATLANTA, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gray Television, Inc.
("Gray," "we" or "us") (NYSE:GTN) assists the University of
Kentucky men's basketball team make a slam dunk in its effort to
help victims of January's devastating earthquake in Haiti. The
effort even scored a high-five for the team from President Barack
Obama. With the help of four Gray Television stations and less than
48 hours to plan and execute it, the basketball team raised more
than a million dollars during the "Hoops for Haiti" fundraising
telethon on January 17. Produced and aired by Gray's WKYT-TV in
Lexington, Ky., the telethon also aired on three additional Gray
television stations: WYMT-TV in Hazard, Ky.; WBKO-TV in Bowling
Green, Ky.; and WSAZ-TV in Huntington, W.V. "The people and the
fans of Kentucky, this state of Kentucky and the people all over
this nation called in," UK head coach John Calipari said on the
telethon. "I don't know what to say. It's emotional. We just spent
a day and all you people did it. I just want to thank you. Thank
you, Kentucky." During the four-and-a-half hour telethon, Coach
Calipari and WKYT-TV's on-air staff talked with other University of
Kentucky coaches, current and former players, local and national
celebrities, the collegiate coaching community, and local and
national business leaders. With current Kentucky basketball players
answering phones, callers donated more than $501,000. With matching
funds and auctions, the "Hoops for Haiti" effort raised more than
$1,300,000. Celebrities like actress Ashley Judd, Pittsburgh
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and country star Taylor Swift
participated by volunteering to auction various items on eBay. The
bid for a dinner for six at Coach Calipari's home with Judd - an
avid Wildcat fan -- went for $98,100. "This is not about me or my
team or the university," Calipari said. "This is everybody. The
people answering phones, the people from WKYT-TV who offered their
time, all you guys. It's just a great, great thing." To express his
admiration and thanks for the "Hoops for Haiti" telethon, President
Obama personally called Coach Calipari and the Kentucky basketball
team on January 26. "I just want to let you guys know that I am
very, very proud of what you guys did," the President told the
team. "It shows a lot of character, and I hope that carries over."
Gray Television, Inc. Gray Television, Inc. is a television
broadcast company headquartered in Atlanta, GA. We currently
operate 36 television stations serving 30 markets. Each of the
stations are affiliated with either CBS (17 stations), NBC (10
stations), ABC (8 stations) or FOX (1 station). In addition, we
currently operate 39 digital second channels including 1 ABC, 4
Fox, 7 CW, 18 MyNetworkTV, 2 Universal Sports Network affiliates
and 7 local news/weather channels in certain of our existing
markets. Web site: http://www.gray.tv/ DATASOURCE: Gray Television,
Inc. CONTACT: Bob Prather, President and Chief Operating Officer,
+1-404-266-8333, or Wayne Martin, Regional VP and General Manager,
+1-859-299-0411 Web Site: http://www.gray.tv/
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