Look Out Times Square, Las Vegas Counts Down New Year's Eve With the Nation When DIRECTV's CD USA Broadcasts America's Party Live From Fremont Street

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Move over Times Square! Las Vegas is the new place for New Year's Eve as DIRECTV's exclusive live music performance show, CD USA takes over the famous Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas during America's Party for its live, nationally televised celebration featuring today's hottest music artists and special celebrity guests. This explosive, four-hour plus celebration will air exclusively on DIRECTV's channel 101 starting at 11 p.m. ET (8 p.m. PT) with a lineup that includes live performances from chart toppers Five for Fighting, All-American Rejects, Rockstar:SuperNova, Smash Mouth, OK Go and Chicago.

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Each year, hundreds of thousands of tourists and locals alike gather in Las Vegas for the world-renowned New Year's Eve celebration known as America's Party. This citywide event encompasses activities throughout the entire destination; in addition to DIRECTV's CD USA live broadcast, this year's celebration includes the spectacular pyrotechnic display launched from nine rooftops on the Las Vegas Strip. Last year, more than 300,000 out-of-town visitors made the trip to Las Vegas for America's Party.

Traditionally, New Year's Eve has been covered by national networks with a sole focus on New York City -- and for the millions of people in the West, the party was just beginning when the live television coverage ended. Now, DIRECTV, the nation's leading satellite television service provider and its hit program CD USA, will ring in the New Year, not just in New York, but across the entire country.

"This is the most unique New Year's Eve special ever produced in one of the most exciting cities in the world," said David Hill, DIRECTV's President of Entertainment. "Never before has a nationally televised New Year's Eve broadcast celebrated the big night in all four time zones across the country with all live performances throughout the entire night."

"Having this level of talent in a nationally televised event is a real coup for Las Vegas and the Fremont Street Experience," said Jeff Victor, president of the Fremont Street Experience. "The broadcast capabilities and the incredible visual backdrop of the 1,500-foot long Viva Vision screen surrounded by the neon lights of Vegas' most storied casinos provide a New Year's atmosphere unmatched anywhere."

Partygoers at the Las Vegas venue will have access to two stages located at either end of the four-block mammoth screen that will feature a simulcast of the band performances as well as eye-catching imagery designed specifically for the CD USA broadcast.

During the four-and-a-half-hour broadcast, the show will jump to live shots of various cities in each time zone across the contiguous United States just before the official countdown to the New Year and through the stroke of midnight in New York City, Austin, Denver and Las Vegas.

The live audience at the Fremont Street Experience will be part of one of the biggest private New Year's Eve parties in the nation. The entire four blocks and 200,000 square feet of the downtown Vegas venue will be gated, with access granted only to those who hold a ticket. Unlike other large public areas such as Times Square, Fremont Street will be replete with outdoor bars and vendors, easy access to casino gambling, numerous restaurants, and other guest-friendly amenities.

"Las Vegas has the reputation of hosting the biggest and the best of everything, and producing this live event downtown under the world's largest LED screen will redefine what a New Year's Eve experience should offer," said Track Entertainment/Live2Net President Lee Heiman.

"When we coined the title 'America's Party,' the idea was to solidify Las Vegas as the best place in the world to celebrate New Year's Eve," said Terry Jicinsky, senior vice president of marketing, Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority. "Having DIRECTV as a broadcast partner showcasing the excitement of Las Vegas' New Year goes a long way toward reaching our goal."

The gates open on Fremont Street at 5:30 p.m., and all ticket holders must be at least 18 years old. Tickets are $80.00 per person and available at http://www.vegasexperience.com/. Fremont Street Experience guests receive admission to all concerts, a specially created New Year's Eve Viva Vision light and sound show and access to all the action on the four-city blocks that are Vintage Vegas at its best.

About Fremont Street Experience

Fremont Street Experience is a public-private partnership formed in 1995 between the City of Las Vegas and The Fremont Street Experience Company, LLC and owned by a group of 10 downtown casino/hotels that underwrite operating expenses for the venue. Member properties include: Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel; Boyd Gaming (Fremont Hotel & Casino, California Hotel, Main Street Station Casino, Brewery & Hotel); Fitzgeralds Casino Hotel; Four Queens Hotel & Casino; Golden Gate Hotel & Casino; Golden Nugget Las Vegas; Lady Luck Hotel Casino (associate member); and The Vegas Club Hotel Casino.

About CD USA

CD USA is a weekly hour-long showcase of up to six live concert performances by chart topping artists including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nelly Furtado, John Mayer, Kelly Clarkson and Busta Rhymes. Hosts Becky Baeling and John Wynn, along with correspondent Malikha Mallette report on the latest music news, exclusive interviews and gossip. CD USA airs every Saturday at 6 p.m. EST/3 p.m. PST on DIRECTV channel 101 in standard and high-definition. Customers subscribing to any DIRECTV TOTAL CHOICE(R) or SELECCION programming package will have access to CD USA at no additional cost. Blaze Television produces CD USA, a spin-off of the immensely popular program in the United Kingdom, CD UK, for broadcast exclusively on DIRECTV. CD USA shoots live-to-tape at the Tribune Studios in Los Angeles and is seen in over 97 countries worldwide.

About DIRECTV, Inc.

DIRECTV, Inc., the nation's leading satellite television service provider, presents the finest television experience available to more than 15.5 million customers through exclusive content, industry-leading customer service (which has surpassed cable for six years running) and superior technologies. Each day, DIRECTV subscribers enjoy over 250 channels of 100% digital picture and sound; exclusive programming and the most comprehensive collection of sports programming available anywhere including NFL SUNDAY TICKET(TM), and MLB EXTRA INNINGS(TM). DIRECTV also leads the digital television technology revolution with exclusives such as NFL SUNDAY TICKET SuperFan(TM), US Open Interactive and YES Network Interactive and will soon have the capacity to offer over 150 channels in HD. DIRECTV is approximately 39 percent owned by News Corporation. For the most up-to-date information on the Company, please visit directv.com.

About Track Entertainment/Live2Net

Track Entertainment/L2N is an integrated full service entertainment/lifestyle marketing company that provides national brands direct access to consumers through live events and the internet. In 2006, Track developed and executed over 50 programs for corporate clients such as American Express, Subaru, General Motors, InBev, Pepsi, Merrill Lynch, and Toyota. Track's proprietary media properties include Clubplanet.com, the world's leading online nightlife destination, event and lifestyle oriented websites including NewYears.com, nocheLatina.com and CoolJunkie.com, and a ticketing agent vehicle, Wantickets.com.

About the LVCVA

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is charged with marketing Southern Nevada as a tourism and convention destination worldwide, and also with operating the Las Vegas Convention Center and Cashman Center. With more than 133,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas alone and 9.5 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space citywide, the LVCVA's mission centers on attracting ever-increasing numbers of leisure and business visitors to the area. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is the official destination marketing organization of Las Vegas and operates the Las Vegas Convention Center and Cashman Center. The LVCVA brings visitors to Las Vegas and Clark County by promoting tourism, conventions, meetings and special events. http://www.visitlasvegas.com/.