CMT Announces Additions to 2005 Programming Slate
Upcoming Premieres Include Music's Hottest Stars, American Stories, Reality
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Jan. 14 -- Building on country
music's successful year, cultural trends and uniquely American stories, CMT
announces additions to its 2005 programming slate. "In 2004 CMT racked up its
most watched year ever and scored a fifth consecutive record-breaking quarter
with 18-to-49 year-old viewers," says Brian Philips, Executive Vice
President/General Manager, CMT. "CMT's momentum sweeps into 2005, as we roll
out more original long-form programming, celebrating country music and telling
timeless American stories."
KENNY CHESNEY: BE AS YOU ARE -- Country music's hottest artist, Kenny
Chesney, comes to CMT for a live performance special, giving the audience an
advance performance of his highly anticipated and very personal album "Be As
You Are: Songs From An Old Blue Chair." Chesney, the current Country Music
Association "Entertainer of the Year," winner of the CMA "Album of the Year"
and the American Music Awards "Fan's Choice Award," will perform songs he has
written about his off-time in the Caribbean in a live one-hour special on
Saturday, Jan. 22.
UNCUT: 60 MINUTES SPECIAL -- This limited series premiering exclusively on
CMT boasts never-before-seen footage from "60 Minutes" celebrity interviews in
revealing one-hour in-depth specials. The first installment features NASCAR
royalty in DALE EARNHARDT JR UNCUT, premiering Friday, Jan. 28. Upcoming
episodes profile Jimmy Buffett (Saturday, Feb. 19), Gretchen Wilson (Saturday,
March 5), and Loretta Lynn (Thursday, April 14).
LYNYRD SKYNYRD'S SUPER BOWL SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL -- The night before the
AFC and NFC champions battle it out on the field for the coveted Super Bowl
XXXIX championship, CMT is throwing its own brand of tailgate party with
Lynyrd Skynyrd, premiering live Saturday, Feb. 5. It's a pre-trophy
celebration as Grammy nominated Texas rock & roll trio Los Lonely Boys and
country star Jo Dee Messina appear as special guests.
BRAD PAISLEY'S MUDDI GRAS -- Amid the purple, green and gold clad revelers
filling the streets of New Orleans for Mardi Gras will be a signature white
Stetson worn by top-selling country star Brad Paisley. Named for his latest
release "Mud on the Tires," Paisley's exclusive performance special BRAD
PAISLEY'S MUDDI GRAS, premiering Friday, March 11 at 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT,
originates from the New Orleans House of Blues.
CMT MUSIC AWARDS -- Country's biggest stars and fans collide for a night
of magic as the 2005 CMT MUSIC AWARDS honors country music's elite for the
year's most outstanding videos. Country music's only fan-voted awards -- and
the only country music awards telecast from Nashville this year -- premieres
live on Monday, April 11.
HISTORY OF SOUTHERN ROCK -- A CMT original two-hour documentary exploring
the roots and legacy of Southern Rock giving backstage entree to the birth of
a movement profiling pioneers such as the Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd
Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie, and the Charlie Daniels Band among
others. Exclusive interviews include the contemporary stars influenced by
this movement. Premieres in June.
MUZIK MAFIA TV: TELEVISON WITHOUT PREJUDICE -- Sold out stadiums,
screaming fans, artistic drama, physical pain, Harleys and manicures -- it's
life on the road with the MuzikMafia. Gretchen Wilson, Big & Rich, and their
eclectic band of musical brothers star in this adventurous new original series
premiering Saturday, Jan. 15. Celebrity guests include Tim McGraw, Usher,
Willie Nelson, Keith Urban, Heart, DMC and Kanye West. In addition to
Gretchen Wilson and Big & Rich, MUZIK MAFIA TV includes Cowboy Troy, a "cowboy
rapper" from Dallas; Two Foot Fred who leads the pack onstage; songwriters
James Otto and Jon Nicholson; visual artist Rachel Kice; blues guitar wizard
Dean Hall, son of country legend Tom T. Hall; and others.
POPULARITY CONTEST -- What's it like to pack your bags and move from one
of America's biggest cities to a tiny town in America's heartland -- leaving
behind your big city profession and way of life? And how will residents of a
small farming community react to newcomers who don't have the slightest clue
about country living? In CMT's new original series, POPULARITY CONTEST, 10
city slickers chuck the bright lights and the big city to immerse themselves
in small town life, as they compete to be named the town's "most popular"
resident. In a dramatic twist, all of the town's 936 residents have a chance
to win a piece of the grand prize. But this is more than a simple fish-out-
of-water tale; in some amazing ways, the town and many of the contestants are
changed for the better. Hosted by Jonathan Torrens, POPULARITY CONTEST
premieres Monday, April 11.
CMT CROSSROADS -- 2005's first new episode of the critically acclaimed
series pairs up two of the most electrifying guitarists and performers to hit
the stage -- rocker John Fogerty and country superstar Keith Urban. The one-
hour episode premieres Saturday, Feb. 19. CMT CROSSROADS explores the common
country music roots of artists from diverse genres. Pairings have included
Elvis Costello and Lucinda Williams; Kid Rock and Hank Williams Jr.; ZZ Top
and Brooks & Dunn; Elton John and Ryan Adams; Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson;
James Taylor and the Dixie Chicks; Ray Charles and Travis Tritt; John
Mellencamp and Kenny Chesney; Melissa Etheridge and Dolly Parton; Pat Benatar
and Martina McBride; Dave Matthews and Emmylou Harris; Toby Keith with Willie
Nelson, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Sammy Hagar, Run DMC's Darryl
McDaniels, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith, Ted Nugent and jazz musician
Wayman Tisdale; John Mayer and Brad Paisley; Heart and Wynonna; Lynyrd Skynyrd
and Montgomery Gentry.
CMT'S GREATEST SERIES -- CMT tips its hat to the greatest in country music
and Americana in this series of countdown specials. Upcoming episodes include
CMT TOP 40 NASCAR MOMENTS premiering Friday, Jan. 28; CMT GREATEST MYTHS 2:
MORE RUMORS, LEGENDS AND DOWNRIGHT LIES premiering Friday, Feb. 4; and CMT 20
GREATEST SONGS OF FAITH premiering Saturday, March 26.
CMT MOST SHOCKING -- In this popular series, CMT tells the real life
stories of the most amazing, harrowing and sometimes terrifying events in
country music, as well as intriguing stories straight from real life in
America. Coming next, CMT MOST SHOCKING: LOVE STORIES premiering Valentine's
Day, Monday, Feb. 14.
DUKES OF HAZZARD -- In 1979 the unmistakable voice of the ultimate music
outlaw Waylon Jennings introduced America, in both theme song and show
narration, to Bo, Luke, and Daisy Duke, and a new pop culture phenomenon
exploded onto TV sets across the nation. THE DUKES OF HAZZARD became a
mainstay in American homes and hearts for seven wildly successful seasons and
featured guest appearances by country stars Loretta Lynn, the Oak Ridge Boys,
Tammy Wynette, Buck Owens, Dottie West, and many more. CMT brings back THE
DUKES OF HAZZARD for a whole new generation of Dukes fans and long-time
devotees beginning Friday, Feb. 25. In addition, CMT explores this pop culture
hit with the debut of CMT INSIDE FAME: THE DUKES OF HAZZARD featuring new
interviews with original stars John Schneider (Bo Duke), Tom Wopat (Luke
Duke), Catherine Bach (Daisy Duke), and James Best (Rosco P. Coltrane), also
premiering Friday, Feb. 25.
CMT, America's No. 1 country music network, carries original programming,
specials, and live concerts and events, as well as a mix of videos by
established country music artists and new cutting-edge acts, including world
premiere exclusive videos. Founded March 6, 1983, CMT, owned and operated by
MTV Networks, reaches more than 76.9 million households in the United States.
Go to country music's biggest web site at http://www.CMT.com.
Web Site: http://www.cmt.com