CBS to Broadcast KENNEDY CENTER HONORS Through 2018

CBS and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced today a new agreement that will keep the annual KENNEDY CENTER HONORS broadcast on CBS through 2018. The new deal further extends one of the longest broadcast partnerships in television history. The special has been broadcast on CBS each year since its debut in 1978.

“The Kennedy Center Honors continues to be one of the most prestigious broadcasts on all of television, and we are honored to be its host,” said Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Corporation. “It is a unique event that reinforces our country's collective appreciation for the performing arts with tremendous class, style and, yes, entertainment. We are proud to join forces with the Kennedy Center and our friends in Washington to continue presenting this annual event.”

“We are pleased to renew this commitment with CBS,” said Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein. “Every year, the broadcast of the KENNEDY CENTER HONORS brings millions of arts lovers into the nation’s center for the performing arts. We value and respect the strong commitment of Leslie Moonves and CBS to the performing arts and look forward to honoring the best of the arts in America.”

Each year, in a star-studded celebration on the Kennedy Center Opera House stage, the Kennedy Center Honorees are saluted by great performers from Hollywood and the arts capitals of the world. Seated with the President and First Lady, the recipients accept the thanks of their peers and fans through performances and heartfelt tributes.

The Kennedy Center Honorees are recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts — whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures or television — and are selected by the Center’s Board of Trustees. The primary criterion in the selection process is excellence. The Honors are not designated by art form or category of artistic achievement; the selection process, over the years, has produced balance among the various arts and artistic disciplines.

In 2011, the KENNEDY CENTER HONORS was awarded the Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Musical or Comedy Special for the third consecutive year. Over the years, the broadcast has been awarded a total of eight Emmys. The program has also been recognized with the Peabody Award for Outstanding Meritorious Service to Broadcasting, and seven awards from the Writers Guild of America.

George Stevens Jr. co-created the KENNEDY CENTER HONORS in 1978 with Nick Vanoff, and has produced and co-written the show for 34 years. Michael Stevens has produced and co-written the show for the past five years.

About The Kennedy Center:

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, overlooking the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., is America’s living memorial to President Kennedy. Under the guidance of Chairman David M. Rubenstein, President Michael M. Kaiser, and Music Director Christoph Eschenbach, the nine theaters and stages of the nation’s busiest performing arts facility attract audiences and visitors totaling three million; Center-related touring productions, television, and radio broadcasts welcome 40 million more. Opening its doors on September 8, 1971, the Center produces and presents performances of music, dance, and theater; supports artists in the creation of new work; and serves the nation as a leader in arts and arts management education.

With its artistic affiliates, the Washington National Opera, the National Symphony Orchestra, and VSA, the Center’s achievements as a commissioner, producer, and nurturer of developing artists have resulted in more than 300 theatrical productions, dozens of new ballets, operas, and musical works. Each year, more than 11 million people nationwide take part in innovative and effective education programs initiated by the Center. As part of the Performing Arts for Everyone program, the Center stages more than 400 free performances of music, dance, and theater by artists from throughout the world each year on the Center’s main stages, and every evening at 6 p.m. on the Millennium Stage.

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