CMT and Miss America Go Hollywood When the New Documentary Series 'FINDING MISS AMERICA' Films in Los Angeles in September

CMT and Miss America Go Hollywood When the New Documentary Series 'FINDING MISS AMERICA' Films in Los Angeles in September

Series to Showcase the Pageant Preliminaries

NASHVILLE, Tenn. and ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., June 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Miss America contestants are Hollywood-bound as CMT and the Miss America Organization announce that FINDING MISS AMERICA, the documentary series that follows each contestant through the pageant preliminaries, will take place in the Los Angeles area September 5-13, 2006. The location for the 2007 MISS AMERICA PAGEANT FINALS will be announced at a later date.

"We're looking forward to shooting the series in the LA area, which gives us access to great locations and will provide some real excitement for all of the contestants," said Paul Villadolid, vice president, programming and development, CMT. "We plan to produce the pageant preliminaries like never before, with a keen eye towards showcasing the hard work and dedication of these accomplished young women."

"Bringing the MISS AMERICA PAGEANT preliminaries to Los Angeles is a first for our organization and an extraordinary opportunity to expose the entertainment industry to one of the most exciting competitions in the country," said Sam Haskell III, chairman of the board for Miss America Organization. "We are thrilled to conduct the preliminaries in LA, so that our contestants can be a part of this multi-cultural city with wonderful landmarks and incredible scenery as the backdrop for this new series." FINDING MISS AMERICA, the seven-episode CMT documentary series, follows the 52 Miss America finalists through the preliminary competitions prior to the 2007 MISS AMERICA PAGEANT. The series will air in the days leading up to the two- hour Pageant Finals, which are scheduled to premiere live in first quarter 2007 on CMT.

FINDING MISS AMERICA is produced by Julie Pizzi and Patty Ivins at PB&J Television, with Paul Villadolid and Nicole Zien serving as executive producers for CMT.

The 2006 MISS AMERICA PAGEANT, hosted by James Denton, premiered on CMT last January and ranks as the most-watched telecast in CMT's history with total viewers*. Since its premiere, re-airings of the Pageant have been seen by over 22 million different viewers.

For the first time in its 85-year history, THE MISS AMERICA PAGEANT took place outside of Atlantic City and debuted in Las Vegas. Jennifer Berry, of Oklahoma, is the current reigning Miss America.

CMT, America's No. 1 country music network, carries original programming, specials, and live concerts and events, as well as a mix of videos by established country music artists and new cutting-edge acts, including world- premiere exclusive videos. Founded March 6, 1983, CMT, owned and operated by MTV Networks, reaches 82.6 million households in the United States. Go to country music's biggest web site at http://www.cmt.com/.

Tune in to Access Hollywood tonight for this exclusive announcement.

The Miss America Organization is one of the nation's leading achievement programs and the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local organizations made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance. For more information, go to http://www.missamerica.org/.

*Nielsen Media Research

PRESS CONTACTS:
CMT Miss America Organization
Lisa Chader Sharon Pearce
615-335-8405 609-345-7571
lisa.chader@cmt.comsharon@missamerica.org

CMT Wolf-Kasteler-Van Iden
Chris Delhomme Lisa Kasteler
310-752-8635 310-205-0618
chris.delhomme@cmt.comLisaK@wkvia.com

Source: Miss America Organization

CONTACT: CMT: Lisa Chader, +1-615-335-8405, lisa.chader@cmt.com, or
Chris Delhomme, +1-310-752-8635, chris.delhomme@cmt.com; or Miss America
Organization: Sharon Pearce, +1-609-345-7571, sharon@missamerica.org; or Wolf-
Kasteler-Van Iden: Lisa Kasteler, +1-310-205-0618, LisaK@wkvia.com

Web site: http://www.missamerica.org/
http://www.cmt.com/

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