canadian channel of the same name see cmt canadian tv channel . cmt launched march 5 1983 ; 33 years ago 1983 03 05 owned by viacom media networks viacom picture format 1080i hdtv 480i sdtv slogan get country . country united states language english broadcast area nationwide headquarters nashville tennessee united states formerly called cmtv 1983 sister channel s cmt music nickelodeon tv land website cmt.com availability satellite directv 327 hd sd 1327 vod dish network 166 hd sd cable verizon fios 221 sd 721 hd at & t u verse 525 sd 1525 hd streaming media playstation vue internet protocol television sling tv internet protocol television cmt originally launched as cmtv is an american basic cable and satellite television channel that is owned by viacom music and entertainment group a unit of the viacom media networks division of viacom . the name cmt is an initialism of country music television . it was the first nationally available cable channel devoted to country music and country music videos . programming on the channel originally featured country music videos taped concerts and biographies of country music stars but now mainly consists of reality programs original scripted series nashville and still the king 1 off network syndicated shows and movies with a minimal amount of music videos . as of february 2015 approximately 86 989 000 american households 74.7 % of households with television receive cmt . 2 contents 1 history 1.1 early years 1983 1991 1.2 gaylord years 1991 1997 1.3 cbs viacom years 1997 present 2 programming 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit early years 1983 1991 edit cmtv an initialism of country music television was founded by glenn d. daniels the owner of video world productions in hendersonville tennessee . daniels put together the ownership group of telestar corporation and the blinder robinson & company investment bank in a three way split . daniels also served as the program director and the first president of the network . 3 the network launched on march 5 1983 at 6 19 p.m. ct beating its chief competitor tnn to air by two days . the first video clip to air on cmt was faron young s 1971 hit it s four in the morning . 4 the following summer mtv filed a trademark infringement lawsuit over the initials cmtv and the network changed its name to simply cmt . 5 gaylord years 1991 1997 edit the network s fourth logo which originally consisted of a red c a yellow m and a blue t all in black squares similar to a child s alphabet blocks . its colors were swapped in 2000 by mtv . the logo was used from 1991 to 2004 . in 1991 opryland usa and its owner gaylord entertainment company acquired cmt in a 34 million deal . 6 the network was sold by a group led by radio station owner robert sillerman and record producer james guercio . 6 opryland usa and owner gaylord also owned cmt s competitor the nashville network . in october 1992 cmt launched its first international channel cmt europe as part of the sky multichannels package . by 1998 gaylord reported 10 million in losses from cmt europe and decided to cease broadcasting the declining network on march 31 1998 . 7 gaylord had planned to emulate the successful model created by e by selling large programming blocks to other european channels but these plans never occurred . 7 in 1994 gaylord made its first major format change for cmt by adding several new music video programs including big ticket jammin country the signature series cmt delivery room and cmt top 12 countdown . 8 all shows eventually were cancelled by 2001 . in 1995 cmt dropped all videos by canadian artists without u.s. record contracts in response to the network being replaced in canada by calgary alberta based new country network . 9 by march 1996 cmt had eventually returned the dropped videos to its playlist after reaching an agreement to acquire a 20 % ownership of new country network in addition to renaming it cmt . 10 cbs viacom years 1997 present edit cmt s headquarters are located in offices in downtown nashville tennessee . in 1997 both cmt and tnn were sold to westinghouse then owner of cbs for a reported 1.5 billion . 11 the acquisition of the two country themed networks along with the formation of the ill fated cbs 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 fox sports 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 the national network and then reformatting it again as spike . viacom also changed the format of cmt modeling it after sister networks mtv and vh1 to include series and movies in addition to music videos . over time the number of music videos on the network had steadily decreased with the late may 2006 rebranding of digital cable network vh1 country to cmt pure country with music video programming on cmt eventually being relegated mainly to the overnight and morning hours similar to mtv and vh1 . despite the decrease in music videos cmt has experienced significant ratings gains since its acquisition by mtv networks in 1999 . by 2007 the channel was available in more than 83 million homes . 12 as of 2009 the network now reaches 88 million homes . on april 4 2012 cmt announced its first cartoon series bounty hunters featuring the voices of jeff foxworthy larry the cable guy and bill engvall who also serve as executive producers . cmt also announced that it would air trinity 911 a 10 episode workplace docu comedy that follows the police force in a small texas town . 13 trinity 911 was later renamed big texas heat 14 and removed from the schedule after airing four episodes . programming edit main article list of programs broadcast by cmt cmt s current programming consists of general entertainment programming movies and reality shows . a significant portion of current non music programming is not related to country music . music videos are still shown but are usually aired during late night early morning hours . of viacom s various mainline channels not counting its suite of all music digital channels cmt currently devotes the most time to music videos with at least six hours of the daily schedule set aside for them during the overnight and morning hours . cmt s music mix is primarily focused on mainstream hit country songs but also includes occasional videos from crossover americana and alternative acts dubbed cmt edge . one of the most popular programs to be aired on cmt is the cmt music awards . these awards are aired live every year from nashville tennessee . the show consists of awards in various categories and performances by country music artists . on june 10 2016 cmt announced that they would pick up the primetime network series nashville after abc s cancellation of the series and renewed the series for a fifth full season of 22 episodes ; it will continue to be streamed beginning the day after an episode s first airing on hulu . 15 see also edit country music portal cmt canada cmt music awards cmt music great american country the nashville network mtv vh1 rfd tv references edit http www.cmt.com seidman robert february 22 2015 . list of how many homes each cable network is in as of february 2015 . tv by the numbers . zap2it . retrieved march 10 2015 . wolfe charles ; akenson james 2001 . country music annual 2001 . the university press of kentucky . p. 8 . retrieved 2016 05 21 . andrew leahey 2015 03 06 . flashback cmt airs first country music video . rolling stone . retrieved 2016 05 21 . kingsbury paul ; mccall michael ; rumble john 2012 . the encyclopedia of country music . oxford university press . p. 94 . retrieved 2016 05 21 . a b nashville net closes cmt acquisition deal . retrieved 2009 09 03 . via highbeam subscription required a b katz richard 1998 02 03 . gaylord shutters cmt euro . variety . retrieved 2009 09 03 . cmt launches new series . bnet . retrieved 2009 09 03 . dead link u.s. country tv drops canadian videos . toronto star . 1995 01 10 . retrieved 2009 09 03 . country music tv channels in accord . toronto star . 1996 03 08 . retrieved 2009 09 03 . cbs makes cable a core business ; with purchase of tnn and cmt network doubles its cable holdings . cable television networks article from broadcasting & cable february 17 1997 author katz michael underwood ryan 2007 04 15 . if it has a screen cmt is on it . the tennessean . bibel sara april 4 2012 . cmt picks up two new series bounty hunters and trinity 911 . tv by the numbers . retrieved may 9 2013 . cmt lines up big premieres for november with returning favorite redneck island along with new series chainsaw gang and big texas heat . the futon critic . october 15 2012 . retrieved may 8 2013 . andreeva nellie june 10 2016 . nashville picked up for season 5 by cmt with next day play on hulu . deadline.com . retrieved june 10 2016 . external links edit official website cmt founder s site v t e family oriented television channels in the united states preschoolers babytv babyfirst disney junior nick jr. pbs kids smile of a child tv sprout pre teens and teens cartoon network disney channel disney xd freeform kids & teens tv nickelodeon nicktoons sorpresa teennick general audiences boomerang decades discovery family familynet hallmark channel insp pixl qubo former nick gas pbj toon disney v t e viacom media networks parent viacom bet networks bet bet gospel bet hip hop bet jams bet soul centric music and entertainment group comedy central mtv mtv2 mtvu mtv classic mtv live mtv tres logo tv spike vh1 kids and family group cmt cmt music nickelodeon nick at nite nick jr. nickmusic nicktoons teennick tv land production studios nickelodeon animation studio nickelodeon on sunset v t e viacom corporate directors philippe dauman ceo thomas e. dooley ellen v. futter alan c. greenberg charles phillips sumner redstone chairman shari redstone william schwartz viacom media networks bet networks bet bet gospel bet hip hop bet jams bet soul centric music and entertainment group comedy central logo tv mtv mtv2 mtvu ratemyprofessors.com mtv classic mtv live mtv tres spike vh1 kids and family group cmt cmt music nickelodeon nick at nite nick jr. nickmusic nicktoons teennick tv land paramount motion pictures group paramount pictures corporation paramount pictures paramount vantage paramount animation paramount television insurge pictures republic pictures united international pictures 50 % ownership mtv branded labels comedy central films mtv films nickelodeon movies other units epix 50 % ownership television stations kvmm cd part of tres music comedy central records nick records miscellaneous assets viacom international viacom 18 india viacom entertainment store bellator mma movietickets.com nickelodeon kids & family virtual worlds group nickelodeon on sunset nickelodeon animation studio see also cbs corporation gulf and western industries national amusements viacom original viacom criticisms and controversies retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title cmt u.s. tv channel & oldid 743064408 categories american country musicenglish language television stations in the united statesryman hospitality propertiesviacom media networksmusic video networks