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

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    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 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 (NYSE:   DTV) 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. www.visitlasvegas.com.
 
 

SOURCE Fremont Street Experience