Agreement Also Includes Exclusive Airing of Live, Prime Time Special Featuring Nominee Announcements and Performances

ATLANTA, November 1, 2011-- GMC, America’s favorite channel for uplifting, faith-friendly family entertainment, announced today that it has signed a renewal agreement with Central City Productions (CCP) to remain the exclusive cable home of gospel music’s premier annual event, the Stellar Awards. The agreement encompasses the 2012 through 2014 Stellar Awards ceremony, as well as GMC’s exclusive-to-television airing of the nominations announcement and concert performances in October prior to each awards show the following year. 

The 2012 Stellar Awards – the 27th annual -- will air on GMC from Nashville on February 11, 2012. The network aired a live broadcast of the 2012 Stellar Awards nominations show on Oct. 29, and has been the exclusive cable home of the Stellar Awards since 2009.

“We are proud to remain the exclusive cable home for gospel’s biggest night, which is a great fit for us since we are America’s leading television destination for gospel music fans,” said Leslie Chesloff, GMC’s executive vice president, programming.  

“GMC is the destination for all things gospel,” said Brad Siegel, vice chairman, GMC.   “We are pleased to renew our partnership with Central City Productions and continue to be the broadcast home of the Stellar Awards, which is undoubtedly the premiere gospel event that recognizes and honors the greatest gospel artists in the business.”
The Stellar Awards ceremony is known for featuring rousing performances and appearances by the world’s biggest gospel music stars. Stellar Award winners in 2011 included Marvin Sapp, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Byron Cage and Forever Jones. 

About Central City Productions and The Stellar Awards
The Chicago based Central City Productions, Inc. (CCP) produces The Stellar Gospel Music Awards. It has been 26 years since the first awards show was taped at the Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago, and the Stellar Awards has now become the premier gospel event that recognizes and honors African American artists. This one-of-a-kind award show has showcased top gospel artists and many television and film stars. Celebrities who have appeared on the Stellar Awards include Lou Gossett, Jr., Oprah Winfrey, The Winans, Clifton Davis, Yolanda Adams, Vicki Winans, Tyler Perry, Aretha Franklin, Idris Alba, Kirk Franklin, Hezekiah Walker and countless others.
The Stellar Gospel Music Awards show is executive produced by Don Jackson and produced by Barbara Wilson for Central City Productions. Founded in 1970 by Don Jackson, Chicago-based Central City Productions is a distributor of original programming to television and cable networks. Visit us on the web at www.thestellarawards.com.

About GMC
GMC (www.watchGMCtv.com) is America’s favorite television channel for uplifting music and family entertainment. The Parents Television Council™ recently awarded its Entertainment Seal of Approval™ to GMC for being “an authentic family-friendly cable network.” GMC was the only television network to receive the highly coveted honor in 2010.   GMC can be seen in more than 51 million homes on various cable systems around the country, as well as DISH Network on channel 188, DIRECTV on channel 338 and Verizon FiOS on channel 224.

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