History Channel's PICKED OFF Competition Series Debuts Tonight, 7/11

Thanks to HISTORY's hit series American Pickers, people are discovering that hunting for collectibles is an exciting pastime - and one that can potentially bring in the big bucks. Now, HISTORY and the producers of American Pickers are giving amateur antiquers a chance to pick their way toward a giant cash prize in PICKED OFF, a new six-part competition series premiering tonight, July 11 at 10pm ET on HISTORY.

In PICKED OFF, weekend pickers go head-to-head in a series of elimination challenges to find items they think will fetch top market value. Four teams begin with $100 each to spend on one item... and the clock is ticking. Teams dig through barns and meet interesting characters all in pursuit of the perfect pick.

It takes more than knowledge and a good eye to win this competition. Teams will need to be just as strategic as the pro pickers - and just as tough at hardcore negotiating - if they're going to out-wheel and out-deal their opponents.

The pressure is on as they hunt for treasure and race back to the Dealers' Room, where judges Todd and Ethan Merrill put a retail value on each item. The team whose item brings in the lowest appraisal gets "Picked off" and goes home. The remaining teams go on to the next challenge - this time with their "profit" from the first challenge. In the third and final challenge, the two remaining teams compete for a winner-take-all $10,000 grand prize.

Every episode of PICKED OFF takes place in a different locale, and the challenges reflect the culture and history of each. The Merrill brothers are third generation dealers and highly respected in the antiques world. They offer fascinating facts about the items and their value along with useful information about the teams' picking strategies. The host is former NFL player / actor Keith Neubert.

PICKED OFF is produced for HISTORY by Cineflix Productions. Susan Werbe is Executive Producer for HISTORY. Executive Producers for Cineflix Production are Mark Poertner and Stephen Pettinger. Julie Cooper is Supervising Producer.

HISTORY(R) is the leading destination for factual entertainment, including award-winning original series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. The network's all-original programming slate, including scripted event programming, features a litany of hits including American Pickers(R), American Restoration(TM), Ax Men(TM), Ice Road Truckers(R), Pawn Stars(R), Swamp People(R) and Top Shot(R) as well as epic mini-series and specials such as the Emmy(R) Award-winning Gettysburg, America The Story of Us, Hatfields & McCoys, Vietnam in HD and 102 Minutes That Changed America. The HISTORY website is the leading online resource for all things history, and in 2011, the United States Library of Congress selected HISTORY's Civil War 150 site for inclusion in the historic collection of Internet materials related to the American Civil War sesquicentennial. For more, visit www.history.com.