Event will be broadcast from Nashville in April
CBS has announced it will present its inaugural broadcast of the CMT Music Awards live from Nashville on Sunday, April 3, 2022 from 8-11 pm live ET/delayed PT. CMT will kick off the company’s first ever Country Music Week by hosting week-long special programming and events capped by exclusive director’s cut airings of the CMT Music Awards later on CMT and various ViacomCBS platforms.
ViacomCBS recently announced that its signature country music tentpole would move to CBS from CMT on the heels of this year’s success. This past June, the annual event saw more than a 10% increase in total viewers and dominated as the No. 1 most social program across all of television for the night. Across the six ViacomCBS network simulcast, P18-34 ratings saw a +32% increase over last year’s event, according to Nielsen.
Celebrated for its high-powered, world premiere and cross-genre performances, the CMT Music Awards have aired live since 2005, delivering Nashville’s biggest party to music fans across the globe. The 2021 show, hosted by superstars Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown, featured the most ever first-time collaborations and blended-genre pairings in show history. Standout performances included H.E.R. + Chris Stapleton, Gladys Knight, Mickey Guyton + BRELAND, and NEEDTOBREATHE + Carrie Underwood, who remains the most-awarded artist in CMT Awards history with 22 wins.
Additional information about the 2022 CMT Music Awards on CBS will be available in the coming months.
The news comes following a fallout between CBS and Dick Clark Productions for the annual Academy of Country Music (ACMs) Awards which will return to Las Vegas next spring following two years in Nashville. According to The Wrap, CBS — which has aired the show since 1998 — has balked at a staggering demand of $22 million a year (which is up from the previous $20 million per year contract) to license the 2022 ACM Awards, after the show has seen a decline in ratings to nearly half of its viewership since 2018. Producers are shopping the show elsewhere, including NBC.
