Country Music Association and ABC-TV Ink 10-Year Deal

Posted Nov 10th 2011 2:15PM by Cory Stromblad
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Rick Diamond, Getty Images

The Country Music Association (CMA) has extended its partnership with the ABC television network for an additional 10 years. News of the deal comes on the heels of last night's (Nov. 9) CMA Awards ceremony, which drew in 16.4 million viewers, on-par with last year's ratings.

With the union, country music has a strong presence at the major broadcast networks, with FOX as the home of the new, fan-voted American Country Awards, and CBS continuing their partnership with the Academy of Country Music. Under the new agreement, ABC will retain the broadcast rights for the CMA Awards, as well as 'CMA Festival: Country's Night to Rock' and the upcoming 'CMA Country Christmas' holiday special.

Bridgestone Arena has also extended its agreement with the CMA, so the downtown Music City venue will remain the home of the awards and holiday shows through 2013.

'CMA Country Christmas' is scheduled to be taped tonight (Nov. 10), with Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles returning as host for the second annual show. The star-studded, two-hour concert will air Dec. 1 at 9:00 PM ET on ABC.

2011 CMA Award Winners

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