ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC, DICK CLARK PRODUCTIONS & CBS TELEVISION ANNOUNCE THE 44th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC(R) AWARDS HOSTED BY REBA McENTIRE TO BE BROADCAST LIVE FROM THE MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA IN LAS VEGAS SUNDAY, APRIL 5, 2009 ON CBS

ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC, DICK CLARK PRODUCTIONS & CBS TELEVISION ANNOUNCE THE 44th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC(R) AWARDS HOSTED BY REBA McENTIRE TO BE BROADCAST LIVE FROM THE MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA IN LAS VEGAS SUNDAY, APRIL 5, 2009 ON CBS

ARTIST OF THE DECADE, A NEW SPECIAL HONORING GEORGE STRAIT, TO BE TAPED AT THE MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA IN LAS VEGAS MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2009 TO BE BROADCAST AT A LATER DATE ON CBS

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TICKETS TO BOTH OPEN-TO-THE-PUBLIC EVENTS TO GO ON SALE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2008!

ENCINO, Calif., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Country Music's Party of the Year(TM), the 44th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, honoring country music's top talent and the industry's hottest emerging talent, will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 5th, 2009 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. In addition, the Academy will tape a new special, ARTIST OF THE DECADE, honoring George Strait at the same location on Monday, April 6th, 2009 to air at a later date on the CBS Television Network. This marks the first time the Artist of the Decade Award will be delivered during its own, unique televised event. Both shows are produced for television by dick clark productions.

Music, film and television legend Reba McEntire will host the 44th ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS for the 11th time. She has won 11 Academy of Country Music Awards including the first-ever annual Academy of Country Music/The Home Depot Humanitarian Award for her outstanding philanthropic work. This is the second year the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS will take place on a Sunday, the fourth year the show will be based at MGM Grand and the seventh year the show will be held in Las Vegas.

"King of Country" George Strait will receive the Academy's ARTIST OF THE DECADE award in recognition of his record-breaking career which spans nearly 25 years. Only four other acts have been honored as ARTIST OF THE DECADE in the Academy's history, including Marty Robbins in 1969, Loretta Lynn in 1979, Alabama in 1988 and Garth Brooks in 1998. Strait has won 19 Academy of Country Music Awards including Entertainer of the Year in 1990. Strait also holds the record for the most Number One hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and currently has 56 number one singles to his credit. He has sold more than 68 million records, garnering him 32 different platinum or multi-platinum albums resulting in the most RIAA platinum certification in country music and the third in all genres, behind The Beatles and Elvis Presley. His current album, Troubadour, is certified gold.

"We are thrilled that Reba is back to host and that George will be honored with this milestone award," said Bob Romeo, Executive Director of the Academy of Country Music. "The Academy and dick clark productions are committed to bringing the best in country music entertainment to fans in their own homes in 2009-both shows are not-to-be-missed events!"

"Nearly 12 million viewers tuned in to our show this year and we're driving ourselves to deliver an even bigger, better show to those viewers in 2009," said Orly Adelson, President of dick clark productions. "The Awards have become a concert event, treating music fans to amazing performances, unexpected combinations of artists and memorable moments. We expect both shows next year to deliver on those elements."

Tickets for both events go on sale on Thursday, November 6th. For event and ticket information, room packages and availability for both the 44th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS and ARTIST OF THE DECADE honoring George Strait, log onto http://www.acmcountry.com/. Tickets are available for purchase to professional members and to fans who are associate members from November 6 through November 20, after which no membership is required for ticket purchase. Country fans may sign up for free ACM associate membership at http://www.acmcountry.com/ to receive the ticket purchase code and information on discounted room rates at the MGM Grand, while rooms are available.

About the Academy of Country Music

Founded in 1964, the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC is an artist and industry- driven organization, providing the financial resources to ensure the on-going philanthropic work of the ACM Charitable Fund (ACMCF). The ACMCF supports music-related humanitarian programs that facilitate healing through music. The Academy is comprised of more than 4,500 professional members and more than 40,000 associate members and is headquartered in Encino, Calif. For more information on the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC and the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, or the ACMCF, please visit http://www.acmcountry.com/ and http://www.acmcf.org/, respectively.

About the Academy of Country Music Awards

The 44th Academy of Country Music Awards is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry. The show is produced for television by dick clark productions and will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. Orly Adelson and R.A. Clark are executive producers, Barry Adelman is producer and Bob Bardo is executive in charge of production.

Source: Academy of Country Music; dick clark productions

CONTACT: Media, Brooke Primero of Academy of Country Music,
+1-818-788-8000, brooke@acmcountry.com; Andrea Ballas of CBS Television,
+1-323-575-2858, andrea.ballas@cbs.com; or MGM MIRAGE Public Relations,
Stephanie Heller, +1-702-650-7565, sheller@mgmmirage.com

Web site: http://www.acmcountry.com/
http://www.acmcf.org/

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