CMT Heats Up Summer With a Smokin' Line-Up of Hot New Music Specials and Returning Favorites

Music Specials featuring Sugarland, Sara Evans, Big & Rich, Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, LeAnn Rimes and Joss Stone Ignite CMT Programming

LOS ANGELES, July 13 -- As summer heats up, CMT introduces a smokin' line-up of new and returning favorites in late summer and early fall, including new specials, CMT AT SUMMERFEST with Sugarland, Sara Evans and Big & Rich and BIG BREAK with Sara Evans, as well as all-new seasons of the popular COUNTRY FRIED HOME VIDEOS and TRICK MY TRUCK.

CMT returns for a second year to what is billed as the "world's largest music festival" -- CMT AT SUMMERFEST 2007 -- for three, one-hour concert specials featuring country music favorites Sugarland, Sara Evans and Big & Rich, to premiere nightly Friday, August 3-5 at 10:00-11:00 p.m., ET/PT. Summerfest 2007 celebrated 40 years of music this June, when thousands of fans descended upon Milwaukee, Wisc. for 11 straight days of live music from across all genres. CMT's Lance Smith will host the three specials.

In an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, aspiring artists compete for a chance to perform as Sara Evans' opening act in the new CMT special, BIG BREAK, premiering Saturday, August 4 at 9:30 p.m., ET/PT. In the half-hour special, dozens of artists audition, but only one is given the chance to take the stage before one of country music's biggest stars.

CMT CROSS COUNTRY will debut its newest country powerhouse combination, a tribute to Texas music, with Miranda Lambert and Jack Ingram taking the stage together to share songs, stories and their love for all things country. Shooting before a live Nashville audience in July, CMT CROSS COUNTRY: MIRANDA LAMBERT AND JACK INGRAM premieres Friday, August 31 at 10:00 p.m., ET/PT.

Country chanteuse, LeAnn Rimes, and British soul singer, Joss Stone, share the stage when genres collide in the newest episode of CMT CROSSROADS. Both known for their strong vocals and retro stylings, LeAnn Rimes and Joss Stone will prove, yet again, that great music knows no boundaries. CMT CROSSROADS: JOSS STONE AND LEANN RIMES will premiere in Fall 2007.

CMT's SURE THING FRIDAYS return with another serving of COUNTRY FRIED HOME VIDEOS hosted by Bill Engvall, the series that shows what everyday Americans do for fun and 15 seconds of fame, Fridays at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT. Chock-full of viewer-generated video moments, the third season of this popular series serves up a heaping helping of hilarious moments like seeing the "female follies" or a 90-year-old grandfather in a wrestling ring. In each 30-minute episode, the funniest video is awarded Engvall's infamous "Here's Your Sign" cash prize award.

Also back for a third season, the popular big rig makeover hit, TRICK MY TRUCK, premieres Friday, July 20 at 9:30 p.m., ET/PT. The Chrome Shop Mafia, a down-home crew of truck mechanics, takes their creativity to a new level as they prove that they can trick out more than big rigs and branch out to overhaul a tow truck, ice cream truck and even a farm pick-up. One special episode features a semi that is tricked out to become a moving tribute to breast cancer research in honor of the driver's mother.

CMT, a unit of Viacom's MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and Heartland entertainment, reaching more than 84 million homes in the U.S. CMT and its website, CMT.com, offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and is the top resource for country music on demand. The network's digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT Mobile and CMT's broadband channel, CMT Loaded.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom , is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with 137 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services - MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN/THE N, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 200 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

SOURCE CMT
http://www.CMT.com