Tom Bergeron, of “Dancing With the Stars,” Ryan Seacrest, of “American Idol,” Howie Mandel of “Deal or No Deal,” Heidi Klum of “Project Runway,” and Jeff Probst of “Survivor” have been named co-hosts for the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards, which will take place September 21 at the Nokia Theatre and will be broadcast on ABC, ABC and The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences told The Associated Press on Friday July 25, 2008.

 “It just seemed like a perfect way to stay current with the state of television today,” executive producer Ken Ehrlich said, calling the five presenters “extremely engaging personalities,” the AP reports. The five presenters have the advantage of feeling comfortable on stage.

The 55th Emmys Awards in 2003 were hosted by 11 comedians, including Ellen de Genres, Conan O’Brien, George Lopez and Wanda Sykes. But the multiple host format drew criticism in 2003, so the Emmys have stuck to a single host in the past five years.

Last year’s ceremony drew just fewer than 13 million viewers and recorded the second-lowest number of viewers in its history.

Mr Ehrlich hopes the “tremendous number of viewers,” which is the result of the combined ratings for the five reality shows hosted by the five presenters – the five reality shows whose hosts have been nominated for this year’s ceremony have a combined weekly audience of around 70 million – will give the Emmys a boost.

The Emmy Awards ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on 21 September.