The 2011 Billboard Music Awards to Air on ABC Live From Las Vegas

NEW YORK, Feb. 17, 2011 -- The 2011 Billboard Music Awards will air on ABC live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, in partnership with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The announcement was made today by Richard D. Beckman, CEO of Prometheus Global Media, which owns Billboard. The show is scheduled to air on Sunday, May 22nd, 2011 and will become one of the most important music forums for artists on television. The live broadcast will be co-executive produced by Mr. Beckman and Don Mischer of Don Mischer Productions.

"This show marks the first of several broadcast platforms we plan to build around the Billboard franchise," said Beckman. "We have an incredible network partner and with Don Mischer, one of the finest producers in the world. We look forward to entertaining music fans with Billboard's own rendition of a televised celebration of music."

Real artist popularity will be recognized on stage by objective measures—capturing pure fan support through Billboard's legendary chart rankings. The Billboard Music Awards will take a holistic look at artist performance based on key fan interactions with music, including album, single and digital sales, touring, streaming and social interactions on MySpace, Facebook and many of the other most popular online destinations for music. These measurements are tracked year-round by Billboard and it's data partners.

The awards will be based on the reporting period of February 28, 2010 through March 1, 2011. Top artists will be recognized in a variety of genres, for example R&B, Rap, Pop, Country, Rock, Latin and Alternative. Such recognition will be determined and authenticated by Billboard.

"We're thrilled to partner with Billboard on the Billboard Music Awards. ABC is already the destination for such prestigious music events as The American Music Awards and The CMA Awards, and we're proud the Billboard Music Awards will now be calling us their home," said Vicki Dummer, SVP, Alternative Series, Specials and Late Night, ABC Entertainment Group. "We see this marquee event as a valuable asset and perfect opportunity for us to launch in May."

"Las Vegas is a world-class destination known for hosting special events," said Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. "Millions of visitors enjoy our entertainment offerings every year and having the Billboard Music Awards return to Las Vegas gives them one more reason to visit."

Notes to Editors

About Billboard

Now in its 117th year, Billboard is the world's premier music brand consisting of Billboard magazine, Billboard Events, Billboard Bulletin, Billboard.biz and Billboard.com—the online destination of choice for millions of music fans. The Billboard brand is built on its exclusive charts and unrivaled reporting on the latest news, issues and trends across all genres of music. Most recently, Billboard launched the new Uncharted ranking of undiscovered artists, tracking their rising popularity across the Internet. Billboard reaches tens of millions of consumers daily through many strategic relationships with major companies including Reuters, SanDisk, Telemundo, Microsoft Zune, Napster, GTech, Motorola, AT&T, Sony Music Entertainment and Amazon. These relationships leverage Billboard's brand recognition, proprietary chart data and information resources to develop products, live events and print, television, radio, digital and mobile platforms. Billboard produces conferences year-round with programming to address music's role in media and entertainment, including music showcases and awards shows to spotlight talent. In addition to North America, Billboard operates businesses in Brazil, Greece, Japan, Korea and Russia.

Billboard is owned by Prometheus Global Media, a diversified company with leading assets in the media and entertainment arenas, including: Music (Billboard and its related conferences and events, including The Billboard Latin Music Awards), Entertainment (The Hollywood Reporter, Backstage, ShowEast, Cineasia, and CineEurope); and Advertising & Marketing (Adweek, Mediaweek, Brandweek, Adweek Conferences and The CLIO Awards).

About Don Mischer Productions

Don Mischer is an internationally acclaimed producer and director of television and live events. He has been honored with fifteen Emmy Awards, a record ten Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, two NAACP Image Awards, a Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting and more. Don Mischer Productions credits range from We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial and the 100th Anniversary of Carnegie Hall; to the Super Bowl Halftime Shows (Prince, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen), and the Opening Ceremonies of both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games to name a few.

About The LVCVA

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is charged with marketing Southern Nevada as a tourism and convention destination worldwide, and also with operating the Las Vegas Convention Center and Cashman Center. With approximately 149,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas alone and more than 10.5 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space citywide, the LVCVA mission centers on attracting ever-increasing numbers of leisure and business visitors to the area. For more information, go to www.lvcva.com or www.VisitLasVegas.com.

SOURCE Billboard