THE BIG RED BALLS ARE HERE TO MELT AWAY ANY LINGERING WINTER BLUES, AS CONTESTANTS FLY THROUGH THE CHILLY AIR WITH NO DESPAIR, ON ABC'S WINTER "WIPEOUT"

"Winter Wipeout: Don't Fear the Beaver" - "Tune in for white hot, ice cold competition� and other temperature-related wordplay," says host John Henson. Winter Wonder Planks joins the roster of brand new obstacles, while recent hit stunts such as the Ski Lift and Seven Letter Word help narrow the competition in a fight for $50,000. This episode features a rocket scientist, a dancing fool and a river guide who has an extreme fear of beavers. Hosted by John Anderson (ESPN's "SportsCenter"), John Henson (E! Entertainment's "Talk Soup") and co-hosted by Jill Wagner, "Wipeout" airs THURSDAY, JANUARY 20 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

Note: This program will repeat Saturday, January 22 from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET.

Each week, 24 energetic new contestants of all ages, shapes and sizes go head to head through four rounds of demanding but hilarious obstacle courses to win the title of "Wipeout Champion" and the $50,000 grand prize. In the end, only one contestant will be victorious, while everyone else will Wipeout!

"Wipeout" executive producers are Matt Kunitz ("Fear Factor") and Scott Larsen. Shye Sutherland, Kevin Wehrenberg, Trice Barto and J. Rupert Thompson are co-executive producers. The series is produced by Endemol USA. David Goldberg is the chairman of Endemol North America.

About Endemol USA

Endemol USA is a leading producer of television programming specializing in reality and non-scripted genres for network and cable television. The company produces the break-out hits "Deal or No Deal," "Wipeout," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "Big Brother." Endemol USA is a division of the Endemol Group, a prominent international content developer, producer and distributor of television and online programming. The company, headquartered in the Netherlands, has subsidiaries and joint ventures in 25 countries, including the major European markets, the U.S., South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. Endemol is owned by a consortium consisting of Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Mediaset Group and Cyrte Group. For more information, please visit http://www.endemolusa.tv. Endemol is a privately held company.

"Wipeout" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5/1 channel surround sound. This program carries a TV-PG,L parental guideline.

For more information on "Wipeout," visit ABC.com