"OSCARS(R) OPENING CEREMONY: LIVE FROM THE RED CARPET"

The Only Official Oscar-Opening Ceremony Coverage With Exclusive Access to the Red Carpet in Final Hour Leading Up to Event

Hosted by Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan

Joined by Lara Spencer and Amy Robach With Special Contributors Jess Cagle and Joe Zee

Airs Oscar Sunday, February 28, 7:00 p.m. EST/ 4:00 p.m. PST on ABC

ABC and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today "Oscars(R) Opening Ceremony: Live From The Red Carpet," the ultimate opening event and highly anticipated lead-in to the live telecast of the 88th Oscars hosted by Chris Rock on Sunday, February 28. This 90-minute special, hosted by "Good Morning America" Anchor Robin Roberts and "LIVE with Kelly and Michael" Co-Host and "GMA" Co-Host Michael Strahan, begins at 7:00 p.m. EST/4:00 p.m. PST on ABC and is the only official red-carpet event. Additionally, from 7:30-8:30 p.m. EST, ABC is the only telecast broadcasting live and exclusively from the red carpet.

Roberts and Strahan will be joined by "Good Morning America" Co-Anchor Lara Spencer, "GMA" News Anchor Amy Robach, along with special contributors Jess Cagle, editorial director of PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly, and Yahoo style editor in chief and "FABLife" Co-Host Joe Zee.

This star-studded special features interviews with the nominees, presenters and performers arriving on the red carpet, plus gives viewers an ultimate insiders' view of all the pre-show excitement.

For the second-consecutive year, Oscar show producers and the Academy tapped ABC's Lincoln Square Productions team to produce the red-carpet show. It will be executive-produced by John R. Green and directed by Jeff Winn.

The 88th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016 at the Dolby Theatre(R) at Hollywood & Highland Center(R) in Hollywood and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 8:30 p.m. EST/5:30 p.m. PST. The Oscars, executive-produced by David Hill and Reggie Hudlin, will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

About The Academy

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world's preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards-in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners-Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.

About Lincoln Square Productions

Lincoln Square Productions produces original content for broadcast, cable and digital distribution specializing in entertaining ways to tell fact based stories. Lincoln Square are producers of some of the most popular truth based entertainment on television including ABC's "Madoff", "What Would You Do?," ABC's award winning True Medicine franchise, the OSCAR Red Carpet Opening Ceremony, ABC Family's Next Step Realty, Discovery ID's "Barbara Walters Presents American Scandal," Travel Channel's "Watt's World," as well as documentary programming for a wide array of partners including Discovery Communications and A & E Networks. Lincoln Square Productions is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. The headquarters are located in New York City's Lincoln Square neighborhood.