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  'Contender' boxer Najai Turpin's suicide related to custody dispute, not reality TV demands

  March 3, 2005
  Both Philadelphia police and the family of boxer Najai 'Nitro' Turpin, 23, have concluded that his Valentines' Day suicide was unrelated to his appearance on NBC's upcoming The Contender reality-competition show.

• CBS sacrifices sweeps ratings to take shot at NBC's 'Contender' debut

  February 22, 2005
  NBC's "The Contender" will have tough competition from two established CBS hits when it premieres next month, Daily Variety said Tuesday.
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  'The Contender' boxer Najai Turpin commits suicide before the NBC show airs

  February 15, 2005
  Up-and-coming Philadelphia boxer Najai "Nitro" Turpin, 23, one of the sixteen contestants appearing on NBC's upcoming The Contender boxing reality-competition show, apparently committed suicide in a parked car on the Valentine's Day morning of February 14, 2005.

• NBC reschedules 'The Contender' (again) for Sundays beginning March 13

  February 8, 2005
  No one knows if NBC's The Contender will score a ratings knockout when it finally premieres, but one thing is clear -- it certainly has the "float like a butterfly" part of boxing legend Muhammad Ali's strategy down. NBC has announced yet another scheduled change for the upcoming Mark Burnett-produced reality series -- its fifth for those keeping score at home.

• NBC reschedules 'The Contender' for Wednesdays beginning March 9

  January 21, 2005
  What had been touted as a heavyweight reality showdown between reality titan Mark Burnett's upcoming The Contender series and Fox's American Idol undisputed ratings champ has suddenly turned into an instant forfeit as a result of NBC's announcement that it has decided to refuse to enter the ring.

• NBC's 'The Contender' to premiere February 21, then air Tuesdays versus Fox's 'American Idol'

  December 6, 2004
  Despite witnessing Fox's The Next Great Champ copycat series draw dismal ratings, it looks like NBC and Survivor and The Apprentice producer Mark Burnett are still looking for a fight. A Nielsen fight. NBC announced last week that The Contender, Burnett's highly-publicized reality boxing series that had its premise copied by Fox, will premiere in late February -- and air regularly versus Fox's American Idol ratings heavyweight.

• NBC contemplates delaying 'The Contender' until January

  September 24, 2004
  Both Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety report that NBC is contemplating delaying its launch of the new Mark Burnett/DreamWorks SKG boxing reality show The Contender to January from its planned November debut.

• NBC accelerates 'The Contender' to November debut, matching Fox's copycat show

  July 14, 2004
  If you can't beat them, don't let them beat you. That appears to be NBC's new motto for dealing with the reality-TV copycats at Fox.
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  Jackie Kallen joins NBC's 'The Contender' as "den mother" for aspiring boxers

  June 28, 2004
  Well-known boxing manager Jackie Kallen has joined Mark Burnett's production team for the upcoming NBC series The Contender.

• NBC schedules 'The Contender' for heavyweight showdown with FOX's 'American Idol'

  May 18, 2004
  Fresh off this winter's successful strategy of moving producer Mark Burnett's The Apprentice series to Thursdays at 9PM versus television's top-ranked CSI series after Apprentice was pummeled in its originally scheduled Wednesday 8PM time period by FOX's American Idol, NBC and Mark Burnett have announced that they want a rematch -- and this time they'll be bringing another of Burnett's new shows, his much-hyped The Contender series, to the showdown.

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