CBS and ‘The Kennedy Center Honors’ Announce New Broadcast Agreement

CBS and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced today a new agreement that will keep the annual “Kennedy Center Honors” broadcast on CBS through 2025. The new deal further extends one of the longest broadcast partnerships in television history. The special has been broadcast on CBS each year since its debut in 1978, with the next telecast on Tuesday, Dec. 27.

“The Kennedy Center Honors is the most prestigious award given to artists in America,” said Leslie Moonves, Chairman & CEO, CBS Corporation. “We are proud that we will continue to broadcast this award-winning telecast for many years to come. It is also a privilege to extend this incredible 39-year partnership with the amazing team at The Kennedy Center, and continue to honor and celebrate our greatest performing artists well into the next decade.”

“We’re fortunate to have had such great partners in CBS over the history of the Kennedy Center Honors,” said Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein. “Next year we’ll be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Honors, and we look forward to working with CBS to build on its legacy of paying tribute to our most talented performing artists, those who have left an indelible mark on our society’s cultural fabric and continue to surprise and inspire us all.”

“We’re pleased to announce this renewed commitment with CBS,” added Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter. “Each year the CBS broadcast of the Kennedy Center Honors allows us to bring the best of the performing arts into millions of homes across the nation, providing broad access to the most impactful artists of our time. We’re proud to continue this tradition of collaboration with Leslie Moonves and CBS.”

The Kennedy Center Honorees are recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts – whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures or television – and are confirmed by the Executive Committee of the Center’s Board of Trustees. The primary criterion in the selection process is excellence. The Honors are not designated by art form or category of artistic achievement; the selection process, over the years, has produced balance among the various arts and artistic disciplines.