 | |
| Type | Country music (main) Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English Spanish (viaSAP audio track) |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled toletterboxed480i for theSDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Paramount Global |
| Parent | MTV Entertainment Group (Paramount Media Networks) |
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched | March 5, 1983; 42 years ago (1983-03-05) |
| Former names | CMTV (1983)[1] |
| Links | |
| Website | CMT.com |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Affiliated Streaming Service | Paramount+ |
| Service(s) | DirecTV Stream,fuboTV,Philo,Sling TV,YouTube TV, Vidgo TV,Hulu with Live TV |
Country Music Television, often abbreviated toCMT, is an Americanpay TVnetwork that launched on March 5, 1983. It is currently owned byParamount Global through theMTV Entertainment Group unit of itsnetworks division. CMT was the first nationally available channel devoted tocountry music and countrymusic videos, with its programming also including concerts, specials, and biographies of country music stars.
Over time, the network's programming expanded to incorporate original lifestyle andreality programming, and acquired sitcoms. As of December 2023[update], CMT is available to approximately 56,000,000 pay television households in the United States; down from its 2011 peak of 93,000,000 households.[2] The channel's headquarters are located inOne Astor Plaza in New York City, and has additional offices inNashville,Tennessee.
CMTV, an initialism for Country Music Television, was founded by Glenn D. Daniels, the owner of Video World Productions inHendersonville, Tennessee. Daniels put together the ownership group of Telestar Corporation and the Blinder Robinson & Company investment bank in a three-way split. Daniels also served as the program director and the first president of the network.[3] The network launched on March 5, 1983, at 6:19 p.m. CT, beating its chief competitor,The Nashville Network, to air by two days. The first video clip to air on CMT wasFaron Young's 1971 hit "It's Four in the Morning".[4] The following summer,MTV (which would be acquired byViacom 16 years later) filed a trademark infringement lawsuit over the initials CMTV, and the network changed its name to simplyCMT.[5]
In 1991,Opryland USA and its ownerGaylord Entertainment Company acquired CMT in a $34 million deal.[6] The network was sold by a group led by radio station owner Robert Sillerman, record producer James Guercio and Nyhl L Henson.[6] Opryland USA and owner Gaylord also owned CMT's competitor The Nashville Network. In October 1992, CMT launched its first international channel,CMT Europe, as part of theSky Multichannels package. In July 1995, CMT launched its Brazilian version in association withGrupo Abril'sTVA.[7] By 1998, Gaylord reported $10 million in losses from CMT Europe and decided to cease broadcasting the network on March 31, 1998.[8] Gaylord had planned to emulate the successful model created byE!, by selling large programming blocks to other European channels, but these plans never occurred.[8]
On October 1, 1994, CMT made its first major format change by adding several new music-oriented programs.[9] In 1995, CMT dropped all videos by Canadian artists without U.S. record contracts in response to the network being replaced in Canada byCalgary, Alberta-basedNew Country Network.[10] By March 1996, CMT had eventually returned the dropped videos to its playlist after reaching an agreement to acquire a 20% ownership of New Country Network, relaunching it as a domestic version of CMT.[11]
In 1997, both CMT and TNN were sold toWestinghouse, then-owner ofCBS, for a reported $1.5 billion.[12] CBS would in-turn be acquired byViacom in 2000, assuming ownership of CMT and TNN and folding them into theMTV Networks. TNN would phase out country programming to avoid overlap with CMT, changing its full name to "The National Network".[a] In-spite of the decrease in music programming, in part due to the rise ofinternet-based platforms in the 2000s, CMT would experience significant ratings gains in the years' since its acquisition. By 2007, the channel was available in more than 83 million homes.[13]
On April 4, 2012, CMT announced its firstadult animated series,Bounty Hunters; andTrinity 911, a 10-episode "workplace docu-comedy".[14]Trinity 911 was later renamedBig Texas Heat[15] and was removed from the schedule after airing four episodes.[citation needed]
On June 10, 2016, CMT announced that they would pick up theABC seriesNashville following its cancellation. The network would order afifth season of 22 episodes.[16]
In 2017, as part of Viacom's restructuring plans, CMT would begin a transition back to unscripted programming.[17] As a result,Nashville's sixth season would also be its last.[18][19]
As part of its shift back to unscripted programming, CMT announcedMusic City in September 2017,[20] a reality series created byAdam DiVello ofThe Hills andLaguna Beach fame.[21] Set in Nashville, the show features Bryant Lowry, a drummer in the Nashville pop band Jet Black Alley Cat.[22][23] The series premiered on March 1, 2018.[24][25]
In 2019, Viacom acquiredPluto TV, and launched several CMT-branded channels, including a channel focused onWestern genre movies (CMT Westerns) and a channel dedicated toDallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.[26][27][28]
In October 2021, CMT picked up the second season ofThe Last Cowboy—a reality series byYellowstone co-creatorTaylor Sheridan.[29] The program had moved fromParamount Network following abandoned plans to relaunch the outlet as a movie network.[30]
CMT's current programming consists largely of acquired sitcoms and movies. The channel's daily country music programming consists of a five-hour music video block, seen during the early morning hours, as well asCMT Hot Twenty, which airs on weekend mornings. Of Paramount's former music channels (not counting its suite of all-music digital channels), CMT has historically been the most devoted to music-related programming and previously set aside at least six hours of its daily schedule for music videos during the overnight and morning hours.[citation needed] In addition, most of CMT's original programming is centered on, or related to, theCulture of Dallas orNashville, Tennessee, where the network's studios are located.[31]
CMT's music mix is primarily focused on mainstream hit country songs, but also includes occasional videos from crossover,Americana, and alternative acts (dubbed "CMT Edge"). Specials seen on the network include the annualCMT Music Awards (with an "extended version" airing since 2022, when the live telecast moved toCBS[32]), andCMT Crossroads, which pairs country music artists with musicians from other music genres. It also carries simulcasts of MTV and Nickelodeon's own award specials as part of Paramount's common "road block" event programming strategy.
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved. Find sources: "CMT" American TV channel – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | New York |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Paramount Media Networks |
| Parent | MTV Entertainment Group |
| Sister channels | CMT |
| History | |
| Launched | August 1, 1998; 26 years ago (1998-08-01) |
| Former names | VH1 Country (1998–2006) CMT Pure Country (2006–16) |
CMT Music (formerlyCMT Pure Country) is an Americanpay television channel and a sister network to CMT. It exclusively carries countrymusic videos in an 8-hour programming wheel schedule similar to several other video-exclusive networks owned byParamount Global.[citation needed]
The network was first launched asVH1 Country, acountry music video-oriented spinoff ofVH1, on August 1, 1998; predating the folding ofCBS Cable networksTNN and CMT intoViacom.[citation needed] On May 27, 2006, the channel rebranded asCMT Pure Country to realign the CMT brand to solely represent Viacom's country music-related programming.[citation needed]
On January 4, 2016, the network's name was changed toCMT Music.[35] Outside of the addition of full-length video tags throughout videos and new imaging, no major changes came to the channel's programming.[citation needed] In 2015, the network discontinued specific video blocks due to that year's cutbacks throughout Viacom, including music video programmers.[citation needed]
The network has lost carriage throughout time with the growth ofstreaming video options, being carried solely in standard definition, and CMT no longer being considered a prime network among those in Paramount Global's suite.[citation needed] CMT Music has generally been depreciated by Paramount Global in currentretransmission consent negotiations with cable and streaming providers for other options; such asPluto TV, which provides several CMT andVevo-branded country music channels.[citation needed] in 2021,Spectrum removed it from their current-day packages, with only grandfathered subscribers with older packages able to view the network.[citation needed]
Currently, the network offers an eight-hour wheel of videos, all under theEPG-only title ofCMT Music with little theming of video blocks outside promoting special events such as theCMT Music Awards nominees and winners around the ceremony. As Pure Country, the network featured branded blocks of programming sub-divided by genres and periods of time: