THE HIT SERIES "GONE COUNTRY" RETURNS TO CMT FOR A THIRD SEASON PREMIERING JANUARY 24

GONE COUNTRY 3 Cast Includes George Clinton, Tara Conner, Taylor Dayne, Micky Dolenz, Sheila E., Richard Grieco and Justin Guarini

NASHVILLE � December 2, 2008 � CMT's hit series, GONE COUNTRY, returns for a third season with a one-hour premiere Saturday, January 24 at 8:00 p.m. � 9:00 p.m., ET/PT. Respective episodes will be half-hour shows; with the series finale running one-hour on Saturday, March 7.

GONE COUNTRY 3 features an eclectic cast that includes funk legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, George Clinton; Miss USA 2006, Tara Conner; pop vocalist and actress, Taylor Dayne; drummer/lead vocalist of The Monkees, Micky Dolenz; world-renowned percussionist and entertainer, Sheila E.; actor Richard Grieco; as well as "American Idol" alum and television personality, Justin Guarini. With the goal of creating a hit country music single, each GONE COUNTRY cast member must uproot to Nashville for an intense two-week challenge, hosted by hit maker, John Rich of the duo Big & Rich.

During this seven episode season, each cast member will again be paired with two of Nashville's finest songwriters with whom they write a country single. In addition to meeting with songwriters, the cast will compete in challenges that test them musically and physically to adapt to a life in country music, both on and off the stage. New for GONE COUNTRY 3, the cast will be afforded the opportunity to win mentor sessions with top country artists, and the entire cast will be challenged to craft an ensemble country single, in addition to their individual songs. At the end of the two weeks, the artist that is most prepared to impress a country audience, as determined by Rich, will record and release their single to country radio. Previous GONE COUNTRY winners have included Julio Iglesias, Jr. (season 1) and Sebastian Bach (season 2).

CMT, a unit of Viacom's MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 87 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.

MTV Networks, a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products. The company's portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 350 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Noggin, The N, AddictingGames, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, Atom, GameTrailers and Xfire.