IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE ABC FAMILY'S ANNUAL "COUNTDOWN TO 25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS," AND "25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS" PROGRAMMING EVENTS, WITH ORIGINAL MOVIES, EXCLUSIVE NEW MUSIC BY THE BAND PERRY, A NEW DIGITAL ADVENT CALENDAR AND ONLINE SWEEPSTAKES TO GET VIEWERS IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT

"Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas" Kicks Off Sunday, November 20th and Features the New ABC Family Original Movie "Desperately Seeking Santa," plus, for the First Time on Television, "The Search for Santa Paws"

December Brings the "25 Days of Christmas," Including the World Premiere of the New ABC Family Original Movie "12 Dates of Christmas," Starring Amy Smart and Mark-Paul Gosselaar, the Television Premiere of "Pink Panther: A Very Pink Christmas" and the Basic Cable Premiere of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"

Cable's Biggest Programming Event of the Year Also Features Network Premiere Broadcasts of "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" and Disney·Pixar's "Up," and Returning Favorites such as "Dr Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "The Santa Clause" and "The Polar Express"

Multiple AMA and CMA Award Nominees, The Band Perry, Will Write and Record an Original Theme Song for "25 Days of Christmas." Music Video to Premiere on ABC Family and ABCFamily.com November 20th

ABCFamily.com is Decking the Halls with Two Holiday Sweepstakes, Digital Games, E-Cards and Exclusive Mobile Music

Burbank, CA (October 12, 2011) - ABC Family will kick off the holiday season with 36 days of festive, family-friendly programming starting with the "Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas" from November 20 - 30, 2011, and then "25 Days of Christmas" from December 1 - 25, 2011. The highly-anticipated annual programming event will include all-new original Christmas-themed movies, as well as the return of holiday favorites. On-air and online, viewers can enjoy the best time of the year with "25 Days of Christmas" exclusives, such as an original theme song and video from hit country music artists, The Band Perry; two holly, jolly sweepstakes; and many other very merry digital treats.

"'25 Days of Christmas' is a beloved tradition at ABC Family, with programming that gives viewers opportunity to celebrate the season," said Tom Zappala, Executive Vice President, Acquisitions & Scheduling. "From our original holiday-themed movies to the premiere of 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,' plus returning favorites like 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas,' we hope viewers will get into the spirit and count down the days with ABC Family."

This year, "Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas" will feature the ABC Family original movie premiere of "Desperately Seeking Santa" on Sunday, November 27 (8:00 - 10:00 PM ET/PT). Laura Vandervoort ("V," "Smallville") stars as an ambitious young marketing executive who dreams up the ticket to Christmas sales: a sexy Santa contest. Teenage girls and their moms flock to her mall when the gorgeous winner of the contest becomes a local hero, sending sales through the roof. She counted on this new Santa to win her a promotion - not win her heart, complicate her life and question everything she ever wanted. In addition, ABC Family is proud to bring the wooftastic holiday movie "The Search for Santa Paws" to television for the first time on Monday, November 21 (9:00 - 11:00 PM ET/PT).

"25 Days of Christmas" is the biggest cable programming event of the year, and ABC Family delivers the gift of holiday cheer with the world premiere of the original movie, "12 Dates of Christmas," starring Amy Smart ("Just Friends," "The Butterfly Effect") and Mark-Paul Gosselaar ("Franklin & Bash," "NYPD Blue"). Premiering Sunday, December 11 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), "12 Dates of Christmas" follows a young woman who re-lives the same first date on Christmas Eve over and over again until she learns to open up her world to new things and stop living in the past.

"25 Days of Christmas" also brings the basic cable premiere of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (Sunday, December 4, 8:30 PM - 12:00 AM ET/PT), which headlines the network's annual "Harry Potter" movie marathon running on Saturday, December 3 and Sunday, December 4. The marathon also includes the first five installments of the "Harry Potter" film franchise.

Viewers can also ring in the holidays with the television premiere of the Pink Panther animated short "A Very Pink Christmas," on Wednesday, December 7 (6:00 - 6:30 PM ET/PT) and the network premiere broadcasts of "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," on Wednesday, December 7 (9:00 - 11:00 PM ET/PT), and Disney·Pixar's "Up" on Friday, December 16 (9:00 - 11:00 PM ET/PT).

Triple platinum artists, The Band Perry, who are currently nominated for three AMA and a total of five CMA Awards, have written and recorded an original holiday song for "25 Days of Christmas" and will shoot a music video for the song, which will be part of the network's on-air and online campaign. Viewers will get an exclusive 60-second sneak peek of the music video during the November 20 (8:00 - 10:00 PM ET/PT) airing of "Holiday in Handcuffs," and the entire video will be available immediately afterward online at ABCFamily.com/25Days.

Online will get into the holiday spirit at ABCFamily.com/WheresBuddy beginning November 18, when the popular "Where's Buddy?" Game and Sweepstakes* returns with an all-new hunt for ABC Family's own Buddy the Elf.

Then, beginning December 1st, deck the halls with the $25,000 grand prize for ABC Family's "25 Days of Christmas" Sweepstakes** at ABCFamily.com/25DaysSweeps. Visitors to ABCFamily.com/25Days can also revel in an abundance of holiday themed goodies, including:

· The 25 Days of Christmas Countdown Calendar that delivers a daily dose of holiday spirit in the form of custom videos, sneak peeks, recipes, music, coupons, and more!

· A favorite from last year, the holiday themed ticker will be back on the homepage displaying visitors' messages to friends and family

· Wildly popular games like Jigscene video jigsaw puzzles, Double Exposure and Merry Match Up

· Holiday e-cards that can be customized and sent to friends and family

· Smartphone users will be able to ring in the holidays with free Christmas music featured in "12 Dates of Christmas"

Fans can get more information online at: http://abcfamily.com/25days Facebook.com/25DaysofChristmas Twitter.com/ABCF25Days Twitter hashtag: #25DaysofChristmas

Part of the Disney/ABC Television Group, ABC Family is distributed in over 98 million homes. ABC Family features programming reflecting today's families, entertaining and connecting with adults through relatable programming about today's relationships - told with a mix of diversity, passion, humor and heart. ABC Family's programming is a combination of network defining original series and original movies, quality acquired series and blockbuster theatricals. ABC Family is also the destination for annual holiday events with "13 Nights of Halloween" and "25 Days of Christmas." ABC Family. A New Kind of Family.

All programming is subject to change.

* NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Open only to persons who are, as of Entry, 18 years of age or older, legal residents of, and physically located within, the 50 U.S. or D.C. Sweepstakes begins on 11/18/11 and ends on 11/30/11. Subject to Official Rules available once promotion starts at ABCFamily.com.

** NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Open only to persons who are, as of Entry, 18 years of age or older, legal residents of, and physically located within, the 50 U.S. or D.C. Sweepstakes begins on 12/1/11 and ends on 12/25/11. Subject to Official Rules available once promotion starts at ABCFamily.com.