OVATION ROLLS OUT THE FESTIVE HOLIDAY FARE WITH A MIX OF ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING, CLASSIC MOVIES AND ITS ANNUAL PROGRAMMING EVENT: "BATTLE OF THE NUTCRACKERS"

Ovation's Original Special THE ART OF: HOLIDAYS Set to Premiere December 11 at 10pm ET

Santa Monica, CA - November 26, 2012 - Ovation, America's only arts network, is celebrating "art everywhere" this holiday season with a festive mix of original programming, movies, and the annual programming event that's become a holiday tradition: Battle of the Nutcrackers.

Kicking off the holiday programming on Wednesday, December 11 at 10 pm ET is a special holiday episode of the Ovation original series, The Art Of. Featuring three very unique and distinctly different holiday traditions, The Art Of: Holidays presents a team of incredible ice sculptors from China, a musical Hanukkah themed celebration, and a professional Christmas tree and home decorator.

In this special holiday episode, viewers will get a behind-the-scenes tour of a 13,000 square foot, Nutcracker-themed ice kingdom that is inside the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA. They will also journey along to the Sephardic Music Festival to experience the taste and sound of Hanukkah, and see the tricks of the trade of a decorating genius who adorns towering Christmas trees, and some of the most epic homes on the block.

On December 16, Ovation will begin the 7th annual Battle of the Nutcrackers programming event, which will continue through December 23rd. This year's event will feature:

· The San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker (2008), stars Elizabeth Powell in a rendition of the ballet which has traditionally been performed in San Francisco since 1944. It airs December 16 at 8 am ET, December 20 at 8 am ET, December 21 at 2:30 pm ET, and on Christmas Day at 9 am ET.

· The Nutcracker: Mariinsky 2012 is an updated Nutcracker production from the historic theatre in Saint Petersburg, where the ballet first premiered in 1892. This outstanding production will air December 17 at 8 am ET and December 22 at 12 noon ET.

· The Nutcracker: The Story of Clara is a uniquely Australian Nutcracker from director Graeme Murphy, in which an aging ballerina reminisces about Nutcrackers past. Clara's story airs December 18 at 8 a.m. ET and December 21 at 12 noon ET.

· Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker! is a contemporary production, full of pathos and theatrical magic. A cross between Oliver Twist, the Ice Capades, and the kaleidoscope fantasy of Busby Berkeley musicals, this Nutcracker is like nothing else you've seen. Matthew Bourne's wild interpretation of The Nutcracker airs December 19 at 8 a.m. ET December 22 at 2:30 pm ET and Christmas Day at 7 am ET.

As usual, viewers are invited to vote for their favorite production at: Facebook.com/OvationTV. The Viewers' Choice will be revealed on December 23 at 8pm ET.

On Christmas Day, December 25 the network raises the curtain on two epic tales from the bible, starting with the two-part mini series Ben Hur (2010) at 4 pm ET, followed by the two-part mini series The Ten Commandments (2006), at 8 pm ET.

"Ben Hur" stars Joseph Morgan (Vampire Diaries) as Judah Ben-Hur; along with Alex Kingston (Private Practice), Emily VanCamp (Revenge) and Kristin Kreuk (Smallville). A behind-the-scenes special will air on December 25 at 3 pm ET.

The Ten Commandments stars Dougray Scott (Doctor Who, Hemlock Grove) as Moses, Linus Roache (Coronation Street), Naveen Andrews (Lost) as Menerith and Omar Sharif (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago) as Jethro.

For more information about holiday programming on Ovation, please visit www.ovationtv.com.

About Ovation

Ovation is America's only arts network, whose mission is to inspire the world through all forms of art and artistic expression. Ovation programming is a one-of-a-kind mix of original and selectively curated art-centric series, documentaries, films and specials. Ovation's signature programming includes The Art Of, A Young Doctor's Notebook, and The Fashion Fund. Ovation reaches a national audience of nearly 50 million homes and is available on cable, satellite, and telco systems, such as Comcast Xfinity, DIRECTV, DISH, Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-Verse. Ovation is also available on VOD (in both standard and high definition). Ovation's diversified viewer experiences extend across its linear network, the popular ovationtv.com, and active social presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more. See the Ovation Facebook page for the latest information and conversations happening across the Ovation brand and the arts: www.facebook.com/OvationTV.