NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK AND BACKSTREET BOYS TO PERFORM TOGETHER LIVE FROM TIMES SQUARE ON "DICK CLARK'S NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE WITH RYAN SEACREST 2011," AIRING DECEMBER 31 ON ABC

Groups to Perform Just Before the Ball Drops

New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys will perform together live from Times Square on "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011," FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31 on the ABC Television Network. They join previously announced acts Ke$ha and Taio Cruz in Times Square, as well as Los Angeles-based performers including Jennifer Hudson, Willow Smith, Ne-Yo, Avril Lavigne, Drake, Jason Derulo, La Roux, Mike Posner, Natasha Bedingfield, Far East Movement and Train.

Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest will host the specials from New York beginning at 10:00 p.m., ET on Friday December 31 on ABC and will be joined by Times Square Correspondent Jenny McCarthy. Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas returns to host the Los Angeles party portions of the specials.

The bi-coastal celebration will include three and one-half hours of special performances and reports on New Year's celebrations from around the globe, as well as the American tradition of Dick Clark counting down to midnight from Times Square in New York City.

The festivities will kick off with "Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011" from 10:00-11:00 p.m., ET, featuring the only live performances from New York's Times Square as well as multiple performances from the Los Angeles celebration.

During "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011, Part 1" (11:30 p.m. - 1:08 a.m., ET), in addition to reporting on the final minutes of 2010 and the traditional Times Square countdown to midnight, the show will feature music performances from both Los Angeles and Times Square in New York.

Wrapping the night's activities will be "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011, Part 2" (1:08-2:12 a.m., ET), when musical acts will continue the party into the early hours of the New Year with additional performances from Los Angeles.

The specials are presentations of dick clark productions, inc. with Dick Clark, Ryan Seacrest and Orly Adelson serving as executive producers. Larry Klein produces.

NKOTB BACKGROUND

New Kids on the Block sold more than 80 million albums worldwide -- including back-to-back international No.1 songs, 1988's "Hangin' Tough" and 1990's "Step By Step" -- and a series of crossover smash R&B, pop hits like "You Got It (The Right Stuff)," "Cover Girl," "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)," "Hangin' Tough," "I'll Be Loving You," "Step By Step" and "Tonight." The group shattered concert box office records playing an estimated 200 concerts a year in sold-out stadiums throughout the world. They still hold many of these records to date. They were Forbes' highest-paid entertainers of 1990, beating out Michael Jackson and Madonna. The band boasted an extensive and highly profitable merchandise line which included everything from lunch boxes and sleeping bags to comic books, marbles and dolls.

BSB BACKGROUND

For more than 17 years, Backstreet Boys have delivered the finest pop music has to offer � tightly-crafted songs, floor-shaking rhythms and unmistakable harmonies. One of the most successful groups in music history, with countless No.1 songs, record-setting tours, and worldwide sales in excess of $100 million, Backstreet Boys are also among pop's most influential groups. The band made history when all tickets for their greatly anticipated 11-week, 39-city Millennium North American Arena Tour sold out as soon as they went on sale-- the vast majority within an hour. At the time, the Millennium Tour set a TicketMaster record by selling 735,000 tickets in two hours. They are also among the few bands to have received the Diamond Award from the R.I.A.A. for sales of more than 10 million on both the Backstreet Boys and Millennium albums. The band is currently wrapping up a worldwide tour in support of their recent album, This is Us.