CMT Awards Ratings Up 19%

According to CMT, its Wed. June 8, two and a half hour Awards presentation earned a 1.35 rating among P18-49, averaging 2.9 million viewers. Combined two-play performance ratings (the show was repeated immediately after the first run) produced the best in the history of the franchise, up 19% from last year with a total of 4.1 million viewers. CMT was also the most watched network among women 18-49, and the No. 1 rated cable program of the day for W18-49.

Compared with past years, the 2011 show was the third highest-rated over the award’s 10 year history and the fourth most-watched telecast in channel history. Ratings were the highest in franchise history in the demos of teens, females 12-17 and P12-24.

In the digital arena, CMT.com received 265,000 unique visitors for the day, up 40% from last year. Social media drove 38% of that traffic. The Twitter hashtag #cmtAwards received more than 325 mentions per minute and about 30,000 total.

Performers Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Zac Brown Band and Luke Bryan gained four of the top 5 selling country downloads with songs included on the show in the hour after the telecast.