IT'S A "WIPEOUT" FAMILY AFFAIR ON THE FRIGID COURSE WHEN CONTESTANTS FACE THE FROSTY FAMILY TREE, PAIN IN THE ICE AND COLD-HEARTED SNAKE, ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE OF WINTER "WIPEOUT" ON ABC

"Wipeout - Winter Wipeout: Family Tree" - Host John Henson says "Winter Wipeout� get knocked out -- cold!" Familial contestants play as duos on a brand new family version of Winter Wipeout. After facing a potentially hard fall, hitting all the limbs of the Frosty Family Tree, contestants must get one of the best combined times on the Qualifier to move on to Pain in the Ice. From there it's a slippery slope on the Cold-Hearted Snake, where only two family teams will compete in the Wipeout Zone. Only one set of family members will walk away with a memory to share in next year's Christmas card - a cool $50,000 and being named "Wipeout" Champions! Hosted by John Anderson (ESPN's "SportsCenter,"), John Henson (E! Entertainment's "Talk Soup") and co-host Vanessa Lachey ("True Beauty"), "Wipeout" airs THURSDAY, JANUARY 19 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET), on ABC.

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" "100 Ways to Leave a Game Show") 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 parental guideline.

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