Country Music Television, or CMT as it is usually called, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, and reality programs. CMT is owned and operated by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom.
History
CMT was launched on March 6, 1983 at 6:19 PM CST, created and founded by Glenn D. Daniels and uplinked from the Video World Productions facility in Hendersonville, Tennessee (see the founder's website at http://www.cmtcountry.com for more details.) Daniels put together the investor group of Telestar Corporation and the penny stock company Blinder and Robinson in a 3-way ownership split.
Glenn D. Daniels was the creator, founder, Program Director and first President of the network, originally called "CMTV" but always "Country Music Television." (The "V" was dropped in response to a complaint by competitor MTV). CMT(V) beat its chief competitor, The Nashville Network (TNN), on the air by two days. CMT was positioned to play 24-hour country music videos, while TNN was geared toward programming lending itself to a "country lifestyle". The first video to air on CMT was a performance clip of country music legend Faron Young's classic hit, "It's Four in the Morning".
CMT used this logo in various versions from 1991 to 2004.
In 1991, Gaylord Entertainment Company (then-owner of TNN) bought the financially-strapped network. The CMT logo was also changed to a simplified red, yellow, and blue design (which it would keep until 2004).
CMT Europe was launched in September 1993 as part of the Sky Multichannels package, however it ceased broadcasting at the end of March 1998.[1]
In 1997, both networks were sold to Westinghouse, the owner of the CBS network. The acquisition of the two country-themed networks, along with the formation of the ill-fated "Eye On People" network, and two regional sports networks (the Baltimore-area Home Team Sports, now Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest Sports Channel in the Twin Cities, now FSN North) formed the CBS Cable division, based in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry and a Charlotte office at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
In 1999, Viacom acquired CBS, assuming ownership of CMT and TNN and folding them into the MTV Networks stable. The resulting moves in 2000 led to the closing of the CBS Charlotte office, while Viacom changed the format of TNN, eventually renaming it Spike TV. Viacom also changed the format of CMT, modeling it after MTV to include shows and movies in addition to music videos. Over time, the number of music videos on the network has continued to decrease with the addition of the CMT Pure Country (originally VH1 Country) digital-tier network.
CMT has experienced significant ratings gains since its acquisition by MTV Networks in 1999. As of 2007, the channel is available in more than 83 million homes.[2]
Current programming
CMT's current programming features country music-oriented shows (i.e. country music videos, taped concerts, etc.), country lifestyle-oriented shows, and old shows and movies that prominently feature country or Southern-rock music. Much like sister channel VH-1, CMT has become a pop-culture channel in the last few years, with added emphasis on specials, countdowns, and reality programs as well as music videos.
Popular shows on CMT include Crossroads (a country artist is paired with an artist of a different genre, usually classic rock), Cross Country (two country music artists are paired), Nanny 911, Power Picks (online voting for upcoming videos), and Trick My Truck (big rig truck mechanics customizing trucks, title is a play on former popular MTV show Pimp My Ride).
CMT also shows country/rural lifestyle movies such as A Wedding on Waltons Mountain and Broken Bridges. Specials on the network include profiles of country artists and award shows such as the CMT Music Awards.
CMT has launched several reality TV shows including Gone Country, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team, Ty Murray's Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge, The Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search, and others.
Reruns are also a staple of CMT's programming. The Dukes of Hazzard aired on CMT from 2004 until early 2008, as did Hee Haw on a sporadic basis. Reruns of several shows that seemingly have little or nothing to do with country music (or have only a bare connection to southern culture) air or have aired recently on CMT, including MTV's Two-A-Days, VH1's Hogan Knows Best and (currently) Trading Spouses and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (the latter is shared with TV Land). On September 27, 2008, the first Lethal Weapon film aired on the network.
A re-edited version of the program MTV Cribs that features archived Cribs segments featuring only celebrities in the country music field and those in Southern culture began airing in January 2009.
See also
References
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