THE "2008 CMT MUSIC AWARDS" SCORES WITH VIEWERS AND SHATTERS TRAFFIC RECORDS ON CMT.COM
Premiere and Repeat Telecast Reach 9.1 Million Viewers
CMT.com Records Outstanding 26 Million Page Views Following the Awards
NASHVILLE � April 17, 2008 � More than 9.1 million viewers* tuned in for the premiere and repeat telecasts of the 2008 CMT MUSIC AWARDS, which premiered live Monday, April 14 from 8:00-10:30 p.m., ET on CMT and is country music's only fan-voted awards show. Traffic on CMT.com hit record highs the day following the awards show, breaking all previous records for page views, uniques and streams.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the two-and-a-half hour 2008 CMT MUSIC AWARDS scored a 1.27 rating among P18-49 up +35% from last year, and averaged 2.8 million impressions (P2+), with 1.3 million of those falling in the key P18-49 demo. The show is CMT's most-watched telecast since the 2007 premiere of DALE. More than 11.1 million viewers cumulative tuned in Monday for related programming, including the live CMT MUSIC AWARDS RED CARPET show and the series premiere of CAN YOU DUET.
Traffic on CMT.com surged the day after the event, shattering all previous CMT.com records with an astounding 26 million page views on Tuesday, April 15, besting the 2007 awards by +246%. Total uniques to the site were up +364% at 1.6 million for the single day, and streams were up +173% with more than 994,000 streams in a single day compared to last year's awards.** Red carpet footage and photo galleries were the biggest traffic drivers for the day, while streaming video, including the hilarious show opener featuring all three presidential candidates, continues to garner clicks. Extensive awards show coverage at CMT.com included a live simulcast, first ever live blogging, photo galleries, video collections, lyrics, song downloads, merchandise, news and message boards. Fans cast a record 5 million votes online to determine the night's big winners.
Hosted by father and daughter combo Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Ray, the CMT MUSIC AWARDS featured an eclectic array of stars, musical performances, laughs and surprises throughout the night. Performances included Carrie Underwood, Sugarland with Little Big Town and Jake Owen, Brad Paisley with special guest, Hank Williams, Jr., Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Taylor Swift, LeAnn Rimes, Keith Urban and Brooks & Dunn, as well as Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus.
Immediately following the awards, CMT premiered CAN YOU DUET, a new 11-episode music competition series from "American Idol" producers FremantleMedia North America. Thousands of country star hopefuls auditioned, but only two performers will make the final cut to become country's next great duo. CAN YOU DUET will air in its regular timeslot every Friday at 8:00 p.m., ET/PT on CMT.
The 2008 CMT MUSIC AWARDS can be viewed in their entirety at CMT.com, and will encore Thursday, April 17 at 3:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; Saturday April 19 at 9:00 p.m., and Sunday, April 20 at 4:30 p.m. All times listed are ET/PT.
Exclusive content can be found at CMT.com and CMT Mobile, and CMT will later bow the awards on its digital all-music channel, CMT Pure Country.
*Nielsen Media Research (cume P 2+ / 1 minute qualifier)
**Page views, uniques and streams pulled for single day on Tuesday, April 15
CMT, a unit of Viacom's MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 87 million homes in the U.S. CMT and its website, CMT.com, offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and is the top resource for country music on demand. The network's digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.
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