Following the devastating hurricanes, horrific California wildfires and tragic mass shooting in Las Vegas, CMT transformed the annual 2017 CMT ARTISTS OF THE YEAR special into a night of hope and healing through the power of music featuring honorees Chris Stapleton, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Keith Urban and Luke Bryan. The live event from Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center notched its highest ratings to date to rank as the most watched in the event's eight-year history. The 90-minute premiere telecast posted a .35 A 18-49 L+SD, a 61% year-over-year increase. The event performed even stronger with women notching .42 W 18-49, up 73% from one year ago. More than 1.1 million fans tuned in to the premiere telecast and the encore.
"We felt a commitment to our fans to transform the event into a night where we honor human resilience through music, and hopefully in the process lift the spirits of our fans," said Frank Tanki, General Manager of CMT and TV Land. "We're thrilled that the special connected with so many people, especially those who've been impacted by the recent tragedies." Given the recent shooting in Las Vegas, it's especially poignant that the special performed strongest in that market, where it posted a 1.77 household rating, an increase of 1867%. The special generated significant growth in other top-tier markets as well, including Tampa (1.10 HH, +320%) ,Philadelphia (1.05 HH, +320%), New Orleans (1.03 HH, +1044%), Columbus (.63 HH, +688%) Denver (.56, +60%), San Diego (.49, +277%), New York (.33, +725%) and Boston (.27 HH, +59%). CMT created three public service announcements for the special featuring top country stars like Blake Shelton and Dolly Parton. Leveraged media relationships helped amplify CMT One Country's campaign to support victims of the recent tragedies, generating more than $1 million in media value across a myriad of platforms.Image courtesy of CMT
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