CBS AND THE KENNEDY CENTER ANNOUNCE NEW BROADCAST AGREEMENT

The Annual "Kennedy Center Honors" to Broadcast on CBS through 2025

The Network Will Air the Acclaimed, Award-Winning Special for the 39th Consecutive Year on Dec. 27

CBS and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced today a new agreement that will keep the annual KENNEDY CENTER HONORS broadcast on CBS through 2025. The new deal further extends one of the longest broadcast partnerships in television history. The special has been broadcast on CBS each year since its debut in 1978.

"The Kennedy Center Honors is the most prestigious award given to artists in America," said Leslie Moonves, Chairman & CEO, CBS Corporation. "We are proud that we will continue to broadcast this award-winning telecast for many years to come. It is also a privilege to extend this incredible 39-year partnership with the amazing team at The Kennedy Center, and continue to honor and celebrate our greatest performing artists well into the next decade."

"We're fortunate to have had such great partners in CBS over the history of the Kennedy Center Honors," said Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein. "Next year we'll be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Honors, and we look forward to working with CBS to build on its legacy of paying tribute to our most talented performing artists, those who have left an indelible mark on our society's cultural fabric and continue to surprise and inspire us all."

"We're pleased to announce this renewed commitment with CBS," said Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter. "Each year the CBS broadcast of the Kennedy Center Honors allows us to bring the best of the performing arts into millions of homes across the nation, providing broad access to the most impactful artists of our time. We're proud to continue this tradition of collaboration with Leslie Moonves and CBS."

"The Kennedy Center Honors is one of the most unique television events of the year, bringing together extraordinary talents from around the world to honor exceptional contributions to the performing arts," said Jack Sussman, Executive Vice President, Specials, Music and Live Events, CBS Entertainment. "We are thrilled to partner with the Kennedy Center to bring this great broadcast tradition to CBS viewers for a very long time."

Each year, in a star-studded celebration on the Kennedy Center Opera House stage, the Kennedy Center Honorees are saluted by great performers from Hollywood and the arts capitals of the world. Seated with the president and the first lady, the recipients accept the thanks of their peers and fans through performances and heartfelt tributes.

The Kennedy Center Honorees are recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts - whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures or television - and are confirmed by the Executive Committee of the Center's Board of Trustees. The primary criterion in the selection process is excellence. The Honors are not designated by art form or category of artistic achievement; the selection process, over the years, has produced balance among the various arts and artistic disciplines.

As previously announced, the 39th KENNEDY CENTER HONORS will be broadcast Tuesday, Dec. 27 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT), with multiple award winner Stephen Colbert hosting for the third consecutive year. The honorees are Martha Argerich, Eagles, Al Pacino, Mavis Staples and James Taylor.

The KENNEDY CENTER HONORS broadcast has received 15 Emmy Awards to date, including five consecutive wins for Outstanding Variety, Musical or Comedy Special. Also, the program has been recognized by the Peabody Award for Outstanding Meritorious Service to Broadcasting, and seven awards from the Writers Guild of America.

Founding Producer George Stevens Jr. co-created the KENNEDY CENTER HONORS in 1978 with Nick Vanoff.

About The Kennedy Center:

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is America's living memorial to President Kennedy. Under the guidance of Chairman David M. Rubenstein and President Deborah F. Rutter, the nation's busiest performing arts facility attracts more than three million visitors to more than 3,000 performances each year, while center-related touring productions, television, online and radio broadcasts reach 40 million more around the world.

Along with its artistic affiliates, the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera, the Center produces and presents performances of music, ballet and contemporary dance, jazz, comedy, Hip Hop, theater, classical and popular music; supports artists in the creation of new work; and serves the nation as a leader in arts education reaching more than 11 million students, teachers and families each year.

The Center's Emmy(R) and Peabody Award-winning The Kennedy Center Honors is broadcast annually on CBS and annual The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is broadcast on PBS.

The Center and its affiliates stage more than 400 free performances by artists from throughout the world each year on the Center's main stages, and every day of the year at 6 p.m. on its Millennium Stages, which are also streamed live, online. The Center also offers reduced and complimentary tickets to young people, active members of the military, and the underserved through its MyTix program and offers a Specially Priced Tickets program for students, seniors, persons with disabilities, and others with fixed low incomes.

To learn more about the Kennedy Center, please visit www.kennedy-center.org. CBS Twitter: @CBSTweet Kennedy Center Twitter: @KenCen