On Wednesday (January 18th) CMT announced that the 2022 CMT Country Music Awards has officially been moved from its original April 3rd date to sometime later in the month.
The network reports that the CMT Awards is moving after the 64th annual Grammy Awards shifting its original airdate. Which was from January 31st to April 3rd. The shift is due to growing concerns over the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
However, the event’s new date is still under consideration. But the network says it will be sharing the date and location for the awards show in the coming weeks. This is going to be the inaugural broadcast of the CMT Awards through the CBS Television Network. It will also be available to live-streaming and on-demand through Paramount+.
Speaking about the date change, Jack Susan, Executive Vice President of Specials, Movies, Live Events & Alternative Programming at CBS shared, “Once we realized the need to move the Grammy Awards to a late date due to current health concerns, we came together quickly with our partners at the Recording Academy and CMT. [We decided to] strategically reschedule these two incredible music events. And utilize the full power of the ViacomCBS ecosystem to promote them.”
Margaret Comeaux, John Hamlin, and Leslie Fram, Executive producers of country music awards, also spoke about the situation. “What better way to introduce the CMT Music Awards to CBS than aligning with the Grammy’s during the network’s biggest month of music this April. Our fans can expect another unforgettable night of music. We look forward to announcing our new date. And sharing more of what we have in store for this year very soon.”
About the CMT Awards
Much like the other award shows, the CMT Awards is a fan-voted awards show specifically for country music videos and television performances. The event, originally the Music City News Awards, began in 1967. It is usually in Nashville. The show’s name has changed a few times over the years. However, it officially became the CMT Music Awards in 2005.
The CMT Awards 2020 was on hold until October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2021, Viacom announced that the 2022 awards show would be moved to broadcast television on CBS beginning in 2022.
According to Deadline, CMT was going to kick off its first-ever Country Music Week for the CMT Awards 2022. It would consist of week-long special programming and events that would include exclusive director’s cut airings of the award show on CMT and ViacomCBS platforms. There hasn’t been any news about who will be hosting the upcoming event.
Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown hosted last year’s event. It featured performances from H.E.R, Chris Stapleton, Gladys Knight, Mickey Guyton, and Carrie Underwood.
