CMT Awards Yield Record-breaking Viewership

More than 10.8 million total viewers tuned in for the 2010 CMT Music Awards and related programming on Wed., June 9 on CMT. According to Nielsen Media Research, the 8:00 p.m. premiere of the two-and-a-half hour show was up 19 percent over last year, making it CMT’s most-watched awards premiere in channel history. The show’s performance from 8-10:30 p.m. drove CMT to be the most-watched network in the time period across cable in the key 18-49 demo.

TV by the Numbers reports that the Awards show had 3.04 million viewers.

Hosted by Kid Rock, the 2010 CMT Music Awards featured performances from country music stars, including Jamey Johnson, Toby Keith, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, LeAnn Rimes, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban with John Mayer and Zac Brown Band. Presenters included Dancing With the Stars competitors Erin Andrews and Maks Chmerkovskiy, Laura Bell Bundy, Sheryl Crow, Paula Deen, Kara Dioguardi, Gloriana, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Terrell Owens, Hayden Panettiere, Richard Petty, Kellie Pickler, Jada Pinkett-Smith, LeAnn Rimes, Blake Shelton, Jersey Shore’s Snooki and The Situation, David Spade, Taylor Swift, Kenan Thompson, Carrie Underwood, Luke Wilson, Trisha Yearwood and Zac Brown Band.