CMT to Present FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Marathon This Memorial Day

CMT today announced it will premiere the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning ensemble drama, "Friday Night Lights" on Memorial Day (Monday, May 25th) with a special kickoff marathon of the series, presented by Ram Trucks and hosted by country sensation, football lover and "Redneck Island" co-host Jessie James Decker. The day-long event begins with the CMT premiere of the "Friday Night Lights" film, starring Billy Bob Thornton and Tim McGraw, at 9:30am ET/PT with the marathon kicking off immediately at 12pm ET/PT. To rally fans for the marathon, CMT will premiere the first episode on Saturday, May 23rd at 12pm ET/PT and again on Sunday, May 24th at 2:30pm ET/PT.

"Friday Night Lights is one of the most revered television series of the last 20 years," said Brian Philips, President of CMT. "We'll herald its arrival at CMT with a massive kickoff celebration that will extend its legacy to new viewers, while providing longtime fans an interactive experience."

Fans can head over to CMT's Facebook page to vote for their favorite "Friday Night Lights" characters from season one. Rankings 10-6 will be revealed on Facebook before the marathon kicks off on Monday the 25th, followed by the top five favorites on-air throughout the eight-episode marathon.

Starring Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, "Friday Night Lights" takes viewers to small town Dillon, Texas, and into the lives of the local high school's football players, their friends and coaching staff, where only one night matters: Friday night. Throughout its CELEBRATED five-season run, which launched the careers of Taylor Kitsch and Minka Kelly, the series addressed many issues facing contemporary American culture, including rural poverty, ever changing family values, racism, drug abuse, school funding and more.

"Friday Night Lights" (the television series) is produced by Peter Berg and Brian Grazer. "Friday Night Lights" (film) is produced by Brian Grazer.

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, CMT.com and CMT Radio offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and are the top resource for country music on demand. The network's digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT App, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.

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