ST. LOUIS, Aug. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --Eleven bands from coast to coast received the highly anticipated call from Charter bearing the exciting news that they had been chosen to compete in the final round of the Charter Center Stage Battle of the Bands Contest. The band with the highest number of votes in each of Charter's 11 markets has been escalated to the final stretch of the 'battle'. The 2012 Battle of the Bands champion will revel in the thrill of opening for The All-American Rejects at the Taste of St. Louis festival on Saturday, September 29.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110526/AQ10195LOGO)

The 11 finalists emerge from a highly competitive and diverse musical field of 245 bands ranging from heavy metal to R&B, and plenty in between. Since June, bands have promoted their music online and in person through Charter provided marketing materials including posters, social media postings and much more - drumming up votes to get to the final round. The vote counts start from scratch; each band with an equal chance to emerge the winner.

The winning band receives a prize package valued at up to $25,000, including the priceless opportunity to open for internationally-known The All-American Rejects before the Taste of St. Louis festival crowd (TasteSTL.com). Music lovers from across the country will be watching the live streaming webcast on Facebook® (http://www.facebook.com/chartercom). There will be no casualties from this battle, with the remaining 10 finalists receiving a $2,000 gift card.

"Charter is the leading provider of Internet services in markets across the country, so it's thrilling for us to have created a vehicle like Charter Center Stage that brings together the artists and those who listen to music online - previously separated by geography, different sensibilities and tastes - to experience music they'd have otherwise been unlikely to encounter," said Allan Samson, Charter's Senior Vice President, Marketing. "Exposing audiences to new musical talent is powerful proof of the many ways Charter's Internet service enriches lives and brings our services and customers together."

Charter is firmly connected to the communities it serves and has actively promoted these local bands, aiming to launch the musical careers of these aspiring artists by offering them a nimble website on which to be discovered.

Voting for the 11 finalists opened Monday, August 27 and ends on Monday, September 10. Visit (www.charter.com/centerstage) for complete details.

In addition to casting a vote for a favorite band, voters can register to participate in the Charter Center Stage Sweepstakes for an opportunity to win a gift card of up to $2,500. See complete sweepstakes rules at: (www.charter.com/centerstage)

The votes in the national voting round were more than threefold last year's total contest vote count of 55,000. More fans and bands are engaged, participating and following the competition through social media.

"The bands took advantage of social sharing tools for Facebook® and Twitter® and other promotional materials we provided to entice fans to view and to vote on their uploaded videos," said Mr. Samson. "And in the last weeks of voting, the finalists will be pulling out all the stops to encourage votes for their bands. Our Internet speeds make it incredibly fast and easy to upload and download videos, and to stream, share, and listen to music online without lags or interruptions, so Charter Center Stage Battle of the Bands Contest is the ideal way to demonstrate the power and reliability of our Internet service."

Key Dates:
Finalist Voting - August 27 through September 10
Winner Announced - On or near September 12
Charter Center Stage Concert - September 29
Charter Presents Taste of St. Louis Festival - September 28-30
To learn more, visit charter.com/centerstage

About Charter

Charter (NASDAQ: CHTR) is a leading broadband communications company and the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States. Charter provides a full range of advanced broadband services, including advanced Charter TV® video entertainment programming, Charter Internet® access, and Charter Phone®. Charter Business® similarly provides scalable, tailored, and cost-effective broadband communications solutions to business organizations, such as business-to-business Internet access, data networking, business telephone, video and music entertainment services, and wireless backhaul. Charter's advertising sales and production services are sold under the Charter Media® brand. More information about Charter can be found at charter.com.

About Taste of St. Louis

The Charter Taste of St. Louis is an award-winning celebration of the best food, art, music and culture our great city has to offer. St. Louis Post Dispatch readers voted it the "Best Family Festival" in the region, and our turnout of more than 350,000 patrons last year proves it. The event has also been recognized as one of the "Best Food Festivals" in AAA Midwest Traveler's Best of the Midwest 2010, voted the "Best Festival" by Metromix.com and "Best Culinary Festival" in Alive Magazine's Top 100 Hot List.

This year's event will take place at Soldiers' Memorial (12th & Market - Downtown St. Louis) on September 28, 29 and 30 and will feature celebrity chef appearances, 50+ restaurants on Restaurant Row and Food Truck Row, the Chef Battle Royale Culinary Competition, National Concerts on the Charter Center Stage, the Art & Wine Walk, the interactive Marketplace, and the Kids Kitchen.

More info at TasteSTL.com

Charter Taste of St. Louis Dates and Times:
Friday, September 28, 4:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 29, 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 30, 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

SOURCE Charter