2016 CMT MUSIC AWARDS Draws 3.3 Million Viewers

CMT turned up the volume last night to score sizable ratings with the "2016 CMT Music Awards" and the early premiere of "Still The King," a new scripted comedy.

The annual awards nabbed 3.3 million total viewers (L+SD) in the premiere simulcast across three networks (CMT, TV Land and Nick@Nite) up +21% from last year. The gross rating for the target demo notched a 1.36, up +16% .

Hosted by Erin Andrews and J.J. Watt, the star-studded evening was driven by blended genre mash-ups from Little Big Town/Pharrell Williams, Blake Shelton/The Oak Ridge Boys, Cam/Fifth Harmony who performed right in the heart of Nashville's downtown, overflowing with fans on the streets and rooftops. Winners included Carrie Underwood("Female Video of the Year" and "CMT Performance of the Year"), Tim McGraw ("Video of the Year"), Blake Shelton ("CMT #SocialSuperstar"), Chris Stapleton ("Breakthrough Video of the Year"), Little Big Town ("Group/Duo Video of the Year"), and Thomas Rhett ("Male Video of the Year").

The awards also lit up social media with #CMTawards trending worldwide for 5 hours to rank as the #1 Series/Special on Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings for the day (Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings; 5/8/16).

The early premiere of "Still The King" proved to be a hit with fans grossing more than 2.2 million viewers for a stellar .97 A18-49 rating across the 3 network simulcast. The premiere simulcast marks the CMT's highest rated original series ever.

The offbeat comedy features an impressive ensemble cast including Billy Ray Cyrus, Joey Lauren Adams, Madison Iseman (Nickelodeon's Henry Danger), Lacey Chabert ("Mean Girls" and "Party of Five"), Leslie David Baker ("The Office"), Kevin Farley ("Eight Crazy Nights" and "The Waterboy,"). The series officially premieres on Sunday, June 12 at 9pm ET/PT with back-to-back episode premieres.