January 26, 2004
1. PRELIMINARY INFORMATION:
These are the official rules for the “WHERE IN THE WORLD IS MATT LAUER?” Contest (the “Contest”). Anyone considering submitting an application to participate in this Contest should read all of the information below for eligibility rules, requirements of participation, and an explanation of the Contest prize.
Please note that all entrants must be willing and able to, among other things:
- make themselves available for phone interviews with TODAY during the period January 26th to February 12th , 2004;
- provide all of the information requested in the entry form;
- undergo a background check at The TODAY Show’s discretion;
- travel with a companion to an undisclosed international location on a moment’s notice; and
- appear on TODAY if selected as the Contest Winner.
The requirements detailed in these Official Rules cannot be waived or changed except by TODAY, and entrants who cannot perform these requirements or make the necessary commitment should not submit an entry form.
No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited or restricted by applicable federal or state laws and regulations.
2. TO ENTER:
The Contest begins on Monday, January 26th, 2004 at 8 AM ET and all entries must be received by no later than Friday, January 30th, 2004 at 8 PM ET (“Contest period”). All times in these Official Rules are defined by Eastern Time. You may only enter the Contest once during the Contest Period.
To enter, go to today.msnbc.com, click on the “WHERE IN THE WORLD IS MATT LAUER?” Contest and answer the five (5) trivia questions (the “Trivia Questions”). Entrants who submit the correct answers to three (3) of the 5 Trivia Questions may continue with the entry process and will automatically receive a message stating that they have correctly responded to the Trivia Questions. These entrants will then be asked to submit an original essay consisting of up to 100 words or less, as indicated on the essay form, stating why entrants believe that they should join Matt at his final secret location and appear live on TODAY as part of the WHERE IN THE WORLD IS MATT LAUER? segment (the “Essay”). The Essays must be entrant’s original work, must not have been entered in a previous contest, must not have not been previously published, must not infringe on any third-party rights and must be deemed suitable by TODAY in its sole discretion. Entrants agree to be bound by the judges’ decisions in all aspects of the Contest. All entries become the property of NBC and will not be acknowledged or returned. No more than one entry per email address or household. Multiple entries received from any person or email address thereafter will void all such additional entries.
By completing the application, entrants agree to receive e-mails and/or other materials from NBC. For more privacy information, please see the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for MSNBC.com: http://www.msnbc.com/m/info/terms.asp
3. ELIGIBILITY:
The Contest is open only to legal residents of the continental United States and the District of Columbia (RESIDENTS OF ALASKA, HAWAII, GUAM and PEURTO RICO ARE EXCLUDED)who are at least 21 years of age as of January 26, 2004.
To be eligible to enter, you and your travel companion must each:
- Possess a valid United States passport, which does not expire prior to March 2004;
- Not be subject to any travel restriction;
- Be willing and physically able to perform moderate physical activity, such as light hiking and boat travel;
- Be available to travel by plane to an undisclosed location given approximately 24 hours notice;
- Appear on the TODAY show broadcast at a date and time designated by NBC;
- Be interviewed by telephone;
- Be willing to undergo a background check conducted by TODAY and willing to sign waiver forms authorizing the release of personal and background information;
- Not be an elected official or not currently running for any political office (local, state or federal); and
- Be willing to sign an affidavit attesting to the truth of the facts in the application form and attesting that each applicant meets all the eligibility requirements.
Winner’s travel companion must be 21 years old as of January 26, 2004, must be available to travel from same departure location as Winner, and must be able to comply with the above eligibility criteria. Employees, officers, directors, agents, representatives and immediate family and household members of National Broadcasting Company, Inc. (“NBC”), MSNBC Cable LLC (“MSNBC”), NBC's affiliated TV station or Web site, and their parent, affiliate and subsidiary companies are not eligible to participate in the Contest or to win. By participating, entrants agree to abide and be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the judges that are final and binding in all matters relating to this Contest.
Entrants must, if selected as the Contest Winner, be prepared to be fly to a secret location and to appear with Matt for the final segment of “WHERE IN THE WORLD IS MATT LAUER?”, which currently is scheduled to be broadcast on Friday, February 13th, 2004. This date and the nature of the appearance is subject to change in the sole discretion of TODAY.
Entrants must agree, if they are among the potential Semi- Finalists (as defined below), to make themselves and their travel companions, available to TODAY for telephone interviews and to submit photographs of themselves and their travel companions to TODAY.
4. SELECTION OF WINNER:
Representatives of TODAY will review and judge entrants’ essays (the “Judges”). The Judges will review the Essays on a rolling basis in the order in which they are received in order to select a group of potential Semi-Finalists (“potential Semi-Finalists”).. The Judges will review entrants’ Essays and select up to fifty (50) potential semi-finalists based on the following criteria, including the Essay’s creativity, the Entrant’s conveyed personality and sense of adventure, and writing style.
Potential Semi-Finalists will be contacted by TODAY between January 26th and February 12th, 2004and potential Semi-Finalists must be reasonably available for phone interviews with TODAY during that period
As a condition of eligibility, certain potential Semi-Finalists will be asked by TODAY to submit a digital photograph of themselves and their travel companions via e-mail to TODAY. The photo must not be retouched or otherwise edited or modified other than as necessary to scan the photo into digitized form (the “Photos”). In addition, certain potential Semi-Finalists and their travel companions will be required to complete and sign a Declaration of Eligibility, Acceptance of Conditions, including a Confidentiality Agreement, and Waiver of Liability and Publicity Release (the “Releases”). The Photos and Releases must be received by TODAY within seventy-two (72) hours of TODAY’s request.
Potential semi-finalists, who satisfactorily submit the Photos and Releases within 72 hours, shall be Semi-Finalists (the “Semi-Finalists”).
If for any reason any of the Semi- Finalists do not meet any of the above eligibility requirements in TODAY’S sole discretion, the Judges may select an alternate semi-finalist or disqualify the entrant. Entrants agree that TODAY may film and broadcast TODAY advising entrant, including entrant’s name, likeness, and/or voice, that he or she has been selected as a semi-finalist.
Semi-finalists agree to allow TODAY to use their photos, the Essays, and the Entrants’ name city, state, likeness and/or voice for purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity without additional compensation.
The Judges will select one Grand Prize Winner (the “Winner”) from among all eligible Semi-Finalists. Selection criteria used by Judges to determine the Winner include: content of the essay; entrant’s conduct and responses during the telephone interview; and the digital photograph submitted. The Judges’ decisions during all phases of the Winner selection process are final and binding and entrants agree to be bound by these decisions.
The Winner will be announced and/or notified by TODAY during the period between February 2nd andFebruary 13th.Entrants agree that TODAY may film and broadcast TODAY advising entrant, including entrant’s name, likeness, and/or voice, that he or she has been selected as the Winner.
Winner and travel companion must be available to travel to a secret location no later than February 12th. If Winner is not able to travel for any reason at the date and time determined by TODAY in its sole discretion, then an alternate Winner may be selected from all remaining eligible Semi-Finalists.
All dates are subject to change in the sole discretion of TODAY.
Contest Winner and travel companion are obligated to keep their travel destination secret until after the location is announced on the TODAY show on or about Friday, February 13th. Contest Winner and travel companion will be asked to sign a Confidentiality Agreement regarding this matter.
Contest Winner’s travel companion will be required to sign and return to TODAY a Declaration of Eligibility, Acceptance of Conditions, and Waiver of Liability and Publicity Release. Further, Winner and travel companion may be subject to a background check conducted by TODAY.
If the Contest Winner is disqualified or otherwise unable to fulfill the requirements asked of them, an alternate Winner may be selected by TODAY, in its sole discretion.
5. RESTRICTIONS:
You may only enter once during the Contest period. Any entries in excess of the limit will be ineligible. NBC is not responsible for any late, misdirected or incomplete entries or failure of any electronic equipment, computer transmissions and/or network connections. NBC is not responsible for any inaccuracies in information which may be used in the Contest, or for any technical or human error which may occur in the processing of the entries. NBC reserves the right to discontinue the Contest at any time.
Entrants using electronic entry must be the registered subscriber of the email account from which the entry is made. Caution: Any attempt by an entrant or any other individual to deliberately damage any online service or web site or undermine the legitimate operation of the TODAY Show: WHERE IN THE WORLD IS MATT LAUER? Contest is in violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, NBC reserves the right to seek damages and/or other remedies from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. TODAY reserves the right to cancel, terminate or modify the contest if it is not capable of being completed as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention or technical failures of any sort, for the web-site portion of the contest.
6. PRIZE:
The Prize is a chance to appear live on the TODAY show with Matt Lauer at his secret location during the “WHERE IN THE WORLD MATT LAUER?” final segment, which is currently scheduled to air on February 13, 2004.
The Prize includes: (1) an appearance with Matt Lauer live on TODAY as a part of the “WHERE IN THE WORLD MATT LAUER?” series; (2) two round-trip coach airfares for Winner and travel companion to an undisclosed location from a major airport near Winner’s residence; (3) transportation to and from the airport; (4) ground transportation and meals in connection with Winner’s appearance on TODAY; (5) six hundred dollars ($600.00) to be used for Winner and companion’s meals; and (6) three night’s stay at an area hotel (single room/ double occupancy). Travel and hotel arrangements shall be determined by TODAY, which, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to provide ground transportation in lieu of air transportation. Regarding all travel provided by TODAY, certain restrictions may apply.
NBC reserves right to substitute other elements that will constitute the Prize if for any reason, including for example a breaking news event, NBC is unable to put Winner on the TODAY show. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received.
TODAY further reserves the right to postpone or cancel “WHERE IN THE WORLD IS MATT LAUER?” Contest and any component thereof, including without limitation, the Winner selection process, the trip to an undisclosed location, or to cancel the final broadcast, in the sole discretion of TODAY.
The approximate estimated value of the Prize is three thousand dollars ($3000.00). Sponsor reserve(s) the right to substitute a similar prize of equal or greater value at its sole discretion. All taxes and all other expenses, costs or fees associated with the acceptance and/or use of any prize are the sole responsibility of the winner. This prize cannot be transferred by Winner or redeemed for cash and is valid only for the services detailed above, with no substitution of prize by Winner. Limit one prize per family or household. In the event this contest is terminated before all prizes are awarded or if any prize is forfeited or unclaimed, Sponsor will randomly select from remaining eligible entries an alternate winner for all remaining prize elements.
7. GENERAL CONDITIONS:
Prize Winner and Winner’s travel companion must sign and return a Declaration of Eligibility, Acceptance of Conditions and Publicity/Liability Release, before accepting the Prize, may be forfeited and alternate Winner selected. By accepting the Prize, winners release and discharge NBC, TODAY, MSNBC, NBC's affiliated TV stations and Web sites and the sponsor of the Contest and their parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, and all their respective employees, officers, directors, representatives and agents from any liability or damage due in whole or in part to the award, acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prize or from participation in this Contest.
Winner and Winner’s travel companion agree to do nothing that would be an embarrassment to NBC News or TODAY. TODAY reserves the right to intervene if Winner or travel companion is deemed by TODAY to be intoxicated, behaving inappropriately or in violation of any law and/or to cancel his or her appearance in the “WHERE IN THE WORLD IS MATT LAUER?” final segment.
Winner and travel companion may not wear apparel that contains recognizable commercial logos during their appearances on TODAY. Winner and travel companions’ on-air wardrobes are subject to TODAY’s approval in its sole discretion.
This Contest is governed by these Official Rules. Each entrant warrants that he or she has read, and agrees to abide and be bound by, all Contest rules and that he or she is not prohibited from participating in this Contest by any applicable law, statute, regulation or other appropriate authority.
By submitting a complete entry form, the Winner, except where prohibited, grant NBC, MSNBC, TODAY and NBC's affiliated TV stations and Web sites and the sponsor of the Game and their parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies and all their respective employees, officers, director and representatives the right to use the winner's appearance on the TODAY show, name, likeness, picture, portrait, hometown, voice, biographical information and written submissions and written or oral statements, for advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation unless required by law. All prizes claimed will be awarded to eligible winners.
This Contest is subject to all federal, state and local laws and regulations. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. By submitting an entry, entrants agree that all entries become the property of NBC and MSNBC and that NBC and MSNBC may use the entries for all purposes, including reproduction, broadcast and display on the Internet and in all media, including all forms of television, and for advertising and promotion without additional compensation unless required by law, and that you will have no recourse against NBC, MSNBC and NBC's affiliated TV stations and Web sites or the sponsor of this Contest or their parents, affiliates and subsidiaries and their respective employees, officers, directors, representatives and agents for any alleged or actual infringement or misappropriation of any proprietary rights in the entry.
8. WINNER ANNOUCEMENT:
For the Grand Prize Winner’s name visit www.today.msnbc.com after February 13,2003 or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope Where in the World is Matt Lauer?, The TODAY Show , 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112.