CALLING ALL KARAOKE LOVERS! CMT'S THE SINGING BEE BEGINS CASTING FOR SECOND SEASON

Auditions to Take Place in Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, Phoenix, Princeton, San Francisco and Studio City

NASHVILLE � September 10, 2009 � CMT's hit series THE SINGING BEE is now conducting open casting calls throughout the country for contestants on season two of the karaoke-style singing competition. The 20-episode second season, with returning host Melissa Peterman, will begin taping in November and premiere in January 2010 on CMT. THE SINGING BEE recently ended its original run on CMT and ranks as the network's highest-rated series of the year.

THE SINGING BEE audition cities and dates are as follows:

� Phoenix, AZ � Saturday, September 12 and Sunday, September 13 starting at 10:00 a.m. at Hotel San Carlos (202 North Central Avenue - Phoenix, AZ - 85004)

� San Francisco, CA � Saturday, September 19 from 10:00 p.m. until 12:00 a.m. at The Mint Karaoke Lounge (1942 Market St - San Francisco, CA - 94102)

� Dallas, TX � Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27 � location/times TBD

� Austin, TX � Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4 � location/times TBD

� Chicago, IL � Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11 � location/times TBD

� Princeton, NJ � Friday, October 16 � location/times TBD

� Nashville, TN � Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25 � location/times TBD

� Studio City, CA � Every Tuesday at 2:00 p.m., Thursday at 6:00 p.m. and some Saturdays TBA � locations TBD

Interested applicants in these markets should email casting@thesingingbee.com for additional specifics such as location and official times.

THE SINGING BEE is produced by The Gurin Company and JUMA Entertainment. Executive Producers are Bob Horowitz and Phil Gurin. Co-Executive Producers are Lewis Fenton and Brennan Huntington. Claire McCabe along with Bob Kusbit and John Hamlin serve as executive producers for CMT.

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 88 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.