"2012 CMT MUSIC AWARDS" WINS ACROSS ALL SCREENS

#CMTawards Trended #1 Worldwide on Twitter

NASHVILLE - June 7, 2012 - CMT's biggest night of the year keeps getting bigger, as the 2012 CMT MUSIC AWARDS celebrates digital wins following the live June 6 telecast hosted by Toby Keith and Kristen Bell. Social media took center stage on-air and top billing on Twitter, claiming the #1 trending position worldwide just minutes into the live telecast. Nearly every performer, song and award category trended throughout the 2.5 hour show. The show peaked with an astounding 5,140 tweets per minute, and over 500,000 total mentions on Twitter.

The CMT MUSIC AWARDS, now in their eleventh year, embraced digital screens from CMT.com and CMT Mobile, to the network's more than 2 million social fans on Facebook and @CMT, to create a co-viewing experience with unprecedented backstage access to the biggest country stars. #CMTawards was prominent on-air throughout the night, and more than 10 artists signed on to serve as Twitter correspondents throughout the night. Additionally, CMT utilized the Twitter Tracker to measure social media buzz on-air, in real time.

The show reached its #1 worldwide trending position shortly after the opening a star-filled opening segment that featured political rivals, incumbent President Barack Obama and Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney chiming in on a satirical campaign between hosts Toby Keith and Kristen Bell, the show open also featured NBC's Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford, Matthew McConaughey, Jon Bon Jovi, Steve Kroft ("60 Minutes"), Maria Menunos and Mario Lopez ("Extra,") and Robin Meade ("HLN"). After making their grand entrance in a life-sized red solo cup, a nod to the Toby Keith hit, the twosome kicked-off the party.

In addition to his CMT MUSIC AWARDS buckle for Male Video of the Year, Luke Bryan claimed the top streaming position on CMT.com the night of June 6 for his performance of "Drunk On You." He was also a consistent trending presence on Twitter during both his performance and his acceptance speech in which he tossed his underwear into the crowd.

Other viral highlights of the night included Scotty McCreery's win for USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year; Pistol Annies' performance of "Takin' Pills"; Jason Aldean's win for Performance of the Year; Willie Nelson and friends' performance of "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die"; Kenny Chesney's performance of "Come on Over"; Carrie Underwood's win for Video of the Year; and the Rascal Flatts and Journey surprise collaboration of "Banjo" and "Don't Stop Believin'," which also ranks as the #1 viral embed of the night from CMT.com.

The CMT MUSIC AWARDS were country music's first fan-voted awards show, and have a long history of rowdy, unexpected moments and memorable performances.

Follow CMT on Twitter (@CMT), hashtag #CMTawards and become a fan of the CMT MUSIC AWARDS on Facebook.

CMT, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 92 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 VOD.