MINNEAPOLIS — PAX TV, the family entertainment broadcast network, and Operation Bass Inc., producers of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, have announced a broadcasting partnership that will bring live coverage of a competitive bass fishing series to network television for the first time.

The broadcast agreement includes live broadcasts of each Wal-Mart FLW Tour
tournament and an additional 17 weeks of live programming in a magazine-style format with segments covering outdoor sporting news, guest appearances by fishing legends, angler profiles and news from the fishing world. The series will include 27 hours of programming, 24 of which will be live. The program will continue to build on the weigh-in format pioneered by the tour and will feature a consistent, guaranteed airing at 3 p.m. EST on Saturdays during the 27-week schedule.

The Wal-Mart FLW Tour program will also be featured on the PAX TV web site, www.pax.tv. The PAX, Wal-Mart FLW Tour television broadcast and partnership will also be promoted throughout more than 2,600 Wal-Mart stores nationwide.

JM Associates, an award-winning Little Rock, Ark.-based television production firm will produce the Wal-Mart FLW Tour program. JM Associates has been a pioneer in outdoor programming for 35 years and has produced the Wal-Mart FLW program since its introduction in 1997.

"Since we began our historic partnership with Wal-Mart, we have never stopped seeking new opportunities to bring professional fishing into as many homes as possible through television," said Operation Bass Chairman Irwin L. Jacobs. "From the beginning, our goal was to build a sport that promotes an appreciation of the great outdoors and exemplifies family togetherness and
family values. The PAX TV/Operation Bass marriage is perfect because both
companies are committed to supplying high quality, industry leading products
and services in a family-friendly manner."

PAX TV is the nation's newest broadcast network with a market penetration rate of 84 percent. PAX reaches more than 84 million households, which exceeds any other sports programming network, according to Operation Bass.

"Operation Bass has been a leader in pioneering new developments in competitive fishing — from record cash purses to live television coverage of events. We look forward to helping Operation Bass continue to elevate the sport of competitive bass fishing and expanding the popular Wal-Mart FLW Tour brand to reach a larger national audience than ever before," said PAX TV President of Programming Bill Scott. "We are making a major commitment of network time and effort to the launch of the 2002 Wal-Mart FLW Tour season and to each broadcast. The entire PAX TV programming team is involved in this effort. Further, for the first time in the sport's history, we will be broadcasting 24 hours of live coverage of Wal-Mart FLW Tour tournaments and fishing-related programming throughout the season."

PAX TV has a history of broadcasting both national and international sporting events. The network currently shares the broadcasting rights of the Senior PGA Tour with CNBC. In 2000, PAX TV televised the Olympic Trials for numerous sports. This year, the network expanded its sports coverage as the sole broadcaster of the International Winter Special Olympics.

The Wal-Mart FLW Tour is the flagship of Operation Bass tournament programs.
Wal-Mart became title sponsor of the tour in 1997. It was the retailer's first national sponsorship. In 2002, Operation Bass will conduct 170 events nationwide and award anglers up to $21 million in cash and prizes. The 2002
Wal-Mart FLW Tour continues as the most lucrative fishing series in the world, awarding anglers more than $5 million in seven events, tour officials said.

Paxson Communications Corporation owns and operates the nation's largest broadcast television station group and PAX TV, the newest broadcast television network. Through the company's strategic relationship with NBC, the two networks have shared programming.

For more information on PAX, visit PAX TV's website at www.pax.tv. For
information on Operation Bass and the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, visit www.flwtour.com.