"THE BACHELOR'S" CHRIS HARRISON TO HOST "2012 MISS AMERICA PAGEANT" ON ABC

Event to Be Broadcast Live from the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino Las Vegas

The Miss America Organization and ABC announced today that Chris Harrison will host the "2012 Miss America Pageant" live telecast from the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas on SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2012 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on ABC. Harrison was co-host of ABC's live telecast of the 2011 Miss America Pageant with Brooke Burke. The 2011 pageant drew ABC's biggest non-sports audience in the timeslot since April 2009, reaching 14.6 million viewers nationwide. He first hosted the iconic broadcast on ABC in 2004.

"It is an honor to come back and host Miss America for my third time and second year in a row," said Harrison. "Hosting Miss America is one of the most iconic hosting jobs in television, so I am of course thrilled to once again be at the helm. I was extremely pleased to see the pageant return to network TV last year with so much success, and I was happy to be a small part of that."

"We're thrilled that Chris is returning to host the 2012 Miss America Pageant", said Sam Haskell, III, Board Chairman of the Miss America Organization. "Chris did a wonderful job for us last year as we celebrated our 90th anniversary with record ratings, and we are honored to have him return for another incredible television event."

"Chris was the perfect emcee for our show and our return to ABC," said Art McMaster, President and CEO of the Miss America Organization. "Chris understands the depth of our program and he helped successfully set the stage to spotlight 53 incredible young women competing. We are proud to have him host our Pageant again and know that he will add his talents to the production to have another winning telecast."

Harrison began his television career by covering local sports in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and quickly ventured into entertainment television. In 1999 he landed the job as host of HGTV's "Designer's Challenge," which was one of the network's highest rated shows. In 2001 he became host of ABC's hit romance/reality series "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette." Harrison also hosts ABC's reality show "Bachelor Pad," an all-star reunion from previous seasons of "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette," which premiered its second season on August 8. He continues to advance in the entertainment industry through a variety of professional endeavors. He has hosted the live television coverage of the final championship rounds of The 2010 "Scripps National Spelling Bee" on ABC, co-hosted ABC's 2008 "American Music Awards Red Carpet Live!," and hosted "Road to the 60th Primetime Emmy � Awards," ABC.com's daily coverage leading up to the 2008 "Primetime Emmy Awards."

About the Miss America Organization

The Miss America Pageant and the scholarship program are among the most enduring endeavors in modern American history. Celebrating 91 years of remarkable achievements when it first began with its humble beginnings as a "bathing beauty'" contest in the 1920s, the Miss America Organization today is one of the nation's leading achievement programs and the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local organizations made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance, helping young women all across the country to reach their dreams and goals. For more information, go to www.missamerica.org.