Music Videos Get a Rating! Wonders Never Cease

CMT EXPLODES WITH MORE NEW MUSIC VIDEO PREMIERES THAN EVER BEFORE

WHEN “CMT BIG NEW MUSIC WEEKEND” LAUNCHES FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2

CMT, CMT PURE and CMT.com to Host Exclusive World Video Premieres by Carrie Underwood,

Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney (featuring Dave Matthews), Keith Urban, Sugarland,

Reba, Miranda Lambert, Billy Currington and Michelle Branch

CMT’s Music Video Ratings Up 20 Percent*

NASHVILLE – September 22, 2009 – For the first time in CMT history, CMT, CMT PURE and CMT.com will debut nine new music videos from superstar artists in one exclusive, world premiere event entitled CMT BIG NEW MUSIC WEEKEND, beginning Friday, October 2.  Brand new videos fromCarrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney (featuring Dave Matthews), Keith Urban, Sugarland, Reba, Miranda Lambert, Billy Currington andMichelle Branch, will be featured throughout CMT and CMT PURE all weekend long.  All of the world premiere videos will be available beginning same day, exclusively on CMT.com. 

In addition, many of the new videos will be introduced by the artist’s themselves in segments created especially for CMT BIG NEW MUSIC WEEKEND.  The premiere of these new videos coincides with a recent resurgence in ratings for CMT’s music hours. 

"With terrific music from our biggest stars and fantastic synergies between CMT.com, CMT Radio and CMT Mobile, video ratings on CMT are up 20 percent to new, multi-year highs,” says Jay Frank, SVP Music Strategy, CMT.  “Our great relationships with artists, labels and managers allow us to all work together as a team to give country fans an exciting event they can’t find anywhere else.  We're very grateful that our partners think of CMT first to deliver the biggest, exclusive cross-platform debuts for their videos."

The artist video premieres included in CMT BIG NEW MUSIC WEEKEND are as follows:

·         Carrie Underwood – “Cowboy Casanova”

·         Tim McGraw – “Southern Voice”

·         Kenny Chesney (featuring Dave Matthews) – “I’m Alive”

·         Keith Urban – “Hit the Ground Runnin’”

·         Sugarland – “Keep You”

·         Reba – “Consider Me Gone”

·         Miranda Lambert – “White Liar”

·         Billy Currington – “That’s How Country Boys Roll”

·         Michelle Branch – “Sooner or Later”

CMT BIG NEW MUSIC WEEKEND will leverage CMT’s multi-platform promotional capabilities with extensive on-air messaging on both CMT and CMT PURE; heavy promotion on CMT.com, including exclusive video playlists, webtools and banner ads; mentions across CMT’s social networks including Twitter and Facebook; along with shout-outs on CMT Mobile, CMT Radio Network and CMT Radio Live.