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Turner South, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.'s first regional entertainment network, has secured charter distribution agreements totaling nearly one million subscribers for the network's launch this Friday, Oct. 1, it was announced today by Andrew T. Heller, executive vice president and COO, Turner Network Sales (TNS)."To launch with 17% of your potential universe in today's competitive marketplace is a great accomplishment," said Heller. "The strong support of Turner South from our affiliates demonstrates the value they see in regional programming tailored to. their customer base. We greatly appreciate the commitments of our distribution partners who have agreed to carry Turner South from day one and look forward to ongoing discussions with the remaining affiliates in the region."Initial distribution agreements for Turner South include MediaOne (Atlanta, Ga.); Prestige Cable (Cartersville, Cumming/ Forsyth and Canton, Ga.); Galaxy Cable (Greenville, S.C.; Montgomery and Greensboro, Ala.); Foster Communications (Jackson and Tupelo, Miss.); Winslow Communications (Jackson, Tupelo and Greenwood, Miss.); Cable TV of Belzoni (Jackson, Miss.); and Knology (Atlanta, Augusta and Columbus, Ga.; Charleston, S.C.; and Montgomery, Ala.).Turner South also has enjoyed positive response from charter advertisers including Pontiac, Home Depot, Amstel Light, Haverty's Furniture, Beau Rivage, White Lily, Louisiana Tourism, Orlando Tourism and Palm Harbor Homes.Turner South will debut Friday at 2 p.m. (ET) in true Southern style with a five minute segment celebrating what makes the South unique including messages from well-known Southerners, R.E. Turner, Anne Rice and Marty Stuart. The first day will continue with E-DAY! 28 HOURS OF ELVIS, a 28-hour Elvis Presley marathon that will include movies such as Jailhouse Rock, Girl Happy and Harum Scarum and will also feature interviews with Elvis' family and friends. E-DAY! will be immediately followed by the inaugural regular season game of the National Hockey League's (NHL) newest franchise, the Atlanta Thrashers. The Thrashers will face off against the New Jersey Devils in Atlanta's new Philips Arena at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 2, with a pre-game show beginning at 6:30 p.m.The 24-hour broad-based entertainment network will target the Southeastern region. The network's original programming line-up includes Live form the Bluebird Cafe; Southern Living Presents, Whole World Theatre Comedy Improve and The College Show. Additional programming will be drawn from TBS, Inc.'s extensive library of movies, sitcoms and dramas, all presented in interesting showcases designed to appeal to distinctive Southern tastes. Turner South will be the exclusive cable home for Atlanta's newest sports team, the National Hockey League's Atlanta Thrashers, in addition to hosting games from Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves and the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.Turner South will present a mix of original programming, movies, sitcoms, regional news and sports and is available to cable and DBS affiliates in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina and regions of North Carolina.Turner Network Sales (TNS), a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is responsible for the sales and marketing of Turner's ten domestic basic cable networks-TBS Superstation, CNN, CNN Headline News, TNT, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies, CNN fn /CNN International, CNN/ Sports Illustrated, CNN en Espanol and Turner South -- to cable affiliates and special markets throughout the United States (U.S.), Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.