AOL and ABC's ''Good Morning America'' Challenge the Nation to Lose 50 Million Pounds

December 15 , 2005

AOL and ABC's "Good Morning America" (GMA) are teaming up to encourage an overweight population to lose 50 million pounds in the " America Takes It Off" challenge. Starting in January, the program will provide motivational and informational materials to millions of people who've pledged to shed pounds and get healthier in 2006. By combining their television and Web reach, GMA and AOL are creating one of the most comprehensive weight loss challenges ever.

As part of this initiative, both GMA and AOL.com will follow real-life stories, while offering information about diet and exercise through AOL.com's co-branded GMA/AOL hub (http://www.americatakesitoff.com/), as well as on-air segments. Dieters will be encouraged to pledge their weight loss goals as a way to motivate them. ABC.com will also lead viewers to additional content through AOL.com including advice from experts, tips and new techniques to losing weight through the AOL Diet & Fitness "30 Days, 30 Ways" program. eDiets.com will sponsor the " America Takes It Off" online program.

"We are thrilled to work closely with 'Good Morning America' to create AOL's first network-wide initiative that will bring both the television and web audiences even closer together," said Tina Sharkey, senior vice president, AOL Network Programming. "By combining the huge viewership of GMA with the incredible reach of AOL's network - which has more than 115 million monthly visitors - we can help motivate millions of Americans to live up to their New Year's pledge to lose weight and get fit."

Whether offering tips and tricks about revving your metabolism, losing weight while sleeping or learning about the TV Workout, the co-branded AOL/GMA "America Takes It Off" online hub will explain new ways to approach dieting while providing details about all the diets available in the marketplace today. Special online communities will be created to offer support to dieters. Additionally, the program will run across AOL's entire network tapping into the best workout songs and top 11 boxing movies through Radio@AOL and Moviefone.com, local resources through CityGuide and shopping tips from InStore.com, as well as cross promotion with AIM.com.

On-air teasers about this upcoming initiative will begin on GMA on December 15 through the launch of the campaign on January 2. Additional elements of the campaign will be announced in January.

About America Online, Inc.

America Online, Inc. and its subsidiaries operate a leading network of Web brands and the largest Internet access subscription service in the United States. Brands include the AOL(R) service, the AOL.com(R) website, and the AIM(R), MapQuest(R), Moviefone(R), Netscape(R), CompuServe(R) and ICQ(R) services. America Online offers a range of digital services including the TotalTalk(R) voice service. The company also has operations in Canada and Europe. America Online, Inc. is based in Dulles, Virginia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.