"AMERICA'S GOT TALENT" HEADS TO LOS ANGELES TO BEGIN LARGEST OPEN CASTING CALL SEARCH IN THE SHOW'S HISTORY

NBC's Top-Rated Summer Series Kicks Off Initial 12-City Talent Search Beginning November 14th

New York, NY - October 31, 2012 - Ready for your shot at $1 million? NBC's top-rated summer series "America's Got Talent," will begin its nationwide search for season eight contestants with auditions beginning in Los Angeles on November 14 and 15. Last season the show discovered unprecedented and unique talent with finalists that included a comedian, a family dog act and a one-of-a-kind musical instrument.

With the talent search open to acts of all ages, the auditions then continue in Seattle (November 29), Portland (December 1), New Orleans (December 8 and 9), Birmingham (December 10), Memphis (December 11), Nashville (December 13) and continues onto the East Coast, making stops in Savannah ( December 14), Raleigh (December 15), Norfolk (December 16), before heading to San Antonio (January 12 and 13) and Chicago (January 26 and 27.) Additional auditions cities will be announced shortly. Updates, pre-registration forms, audition tips and a full list of details with all venue information can be found at www.AGTauditions.com.

"America's Got Talent" is the only talent competition show that is open to any age and any talent. The auditions are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for performers across the country to showcase their talents in 90 seconds to the series' producers in the hopes of being able to take the stage in front of the judges. Every type of performer is welcome - including musicians, dance crews, magicians, contortionists, comedians, singers, jugglers, animal acts and everything in between. Last year's auditions took the show to numerous cities, including New York City, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Austin, and Charlotte. This year's search is bigger than ever before, with the show traveling to the most cities in search of one-of-a-kind talent. Last year the winning act, Richard and Nick Olate of Olate Dogs, beat out thousands of hopefuls to take home the coveted $1 million grand prize and a headlining show in Las Vegas.

Olate Dogs is a high-energy, fast-paced dog act filled with impressive pet tricks led by Richard Olate, 55, and his son Nicholas Olate, 19. Richard grew up in South America in a poor family. A third generation circus performer, Richard has performed since he was 12, and through hard work and constant struggle, he made it to the United States at the age of 33. Click here to see reactions from Olate Dogs and the "America's Got Talent" Season 7 judges: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeQ3FvfkhuA&feature=youtu.be

2012/2013 Audition cities:

Nov 14 & 15, 2012 - Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles Convention Center

Nov 29, 2012 - Seattle, WA - Venue TBA

Dec 1st, 2012 - Portland, OR - Oregon Convention Center

Dec 8 & 9, 2012 - New Orleans, LA - Ernest N. Memorial Convention Center

Dec 10, 2012 - Birmingham, AL - Sheraton Birmingham Hotel

Dec 11, 2012 - Memphis, TN - Venue TBA

Dec 13, 2012 - Nashville, TN - Nashville Convention Center

Dec 14, 2012 - Savannah, GA - The Westin Savannah Harbor Resort and Spa

Dec 15, 2012 - Raleigh, NC - Raleigh Convention Center

Dec 16, 2012 - Norfolk, VA - Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel

Jan 12 & 13, 2013 - San Antonio, TX - Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center

Jan 26 & 27, 2013 - Chicago, IL - McCormick Place

The next season of "America's Got Talent" is here! To audition and show America and the Judges your talent, visit www.agtauditions.com or www.nbc.com/agt for more information.

"America's Got Talent" was created by Simon Cowell's SYCO Television and is co-produced by Syco TV and FREMANTLEMEDIA North America.

For embeddable clips and full episodes of "America's Got Talent," please visit NBC.com's official show site: http://www.nbc.com/americasgottalent/

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About NBC Entertainment:

NBC Entertainment develops and schedules programming for the network's primetime, late-night, and daytime schedules. NBC's quality programs and balanced lineup have earned the network critical acclaim, numerous awards, and ratings success. NBC has earned more Emmy Awards than any network in television history. NBC's roster of popular scripted series includes the Emmy Award-winning comedies "The Office" and "30 Rock," as well as the critically acclaimed "Parks and Recreation" and "Community," and new popular comedies "The New Normal," "Go On," "Animal Practice" and "Guys With Kids." NBC's drama slate is highlighted by the buzz-worthy new series "Revolution" and "Chicago Fire," veteran award-winning shows "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Parenthood," and the acclaimed recent additions "Smash" and "Grimm." Unscripted series for NBC include the vocal competition hit "The Voice" as well as "The Biggest Loser," "The Celebrity Apprentice" and the perennial #1 most-watched summer series, "America's Got Talent." In late-night, NBC regularly delivers #1 broadcast results with "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," "Last Call with Carson Daly" and "Saturday Night Live." NBC Daytime's "Days of our Lives" consistently ranks among daytime's top programs in the valuable women 18-34 category. The five-time, Emmy Award-winning NBC.com streams full episodes and provides original content for NBC entertainment shows online and through apps for mobile and tablet devices. NBC recently launched NBC Kids, a new Saturday morning programming block designed specifically to address the developmental needs of preschool-aged children. Programmed by the kids' experts at Sprout, the nation's first 24-hour preschool television channel, this new three-hour block will feature educational series that promote active, healthy lifestyles for younger children.

About FremantleMedia North America:

FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) is the U.S. production division of global media giant FremantleMedia. Based in Burbank, California, FMNA produces entertaining and innovative programs for network, cable, syndicated and online platforms, including the Emmy-nominated musical/reality phenomenon American Idol (FOX), The X Factor (FOX), America's Got Talent (NBC), Family Feud (syndicated), The Price Is Right (CBS), Let's Make A Deal (CBS), Total Blackout (Syfy), The Pet Collective (YouTube) and the first scripted series Wedding Band (TBS).

About SYCO:

Syco Entertainment is a global music, television and film production joint venture between Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment. Syco's television and music assets include the global TV franchises "The X Factor" and "Got Talent," as well as international superstar artists such as One Direction, Leona Lewis, Susan Boyle, Il Divo, Cher Lloyd, Rebecca Ferguson and Labrinth. The Got Talent format is the world's top global entertainment format and is a ratings hit in every corner of the world. America's Got Talent is the longest running iteration of the show after seven hit seasons attracting peak audiences of over 12 million viewers. America's Got Talent currently airs in 125 countries. Britain's Got Talent, is the UK's number one entertainment show of the last decade, along with its equivalents in Australia, France and Russia with recent adaptations of format launching in French-speaking Belgium, Vietnam, Peru, Ecuador and New Zealand where it was the highest rated locally-produced entertainment launch for seven years. Further local versions of Got Talent are on the way, with total sales of the blockbuster format reaching 54 territories to date. "Britain's Got Talent" in 2009 launched the global singing career of Susan Boyle. Her debut Syco album sold over 8 million units in six weeks, making it the world's biggest-selling album of 2009 and the fastest-selling album in history with 20 million records sold to date. The X Factor format was also created by Simon Cowell and is owned by Syco. Artists launched through The X Factor series globally have sold over 100 million records achieved over 110 number one, 270 top 10, and 501 top 50 releases. Local versions of The X Factor format are now produced in more than 43 territories and the U.S. version of the show airs in over 162 countries.