COUNTRY MUSIC STAR KELSEA BALLERINI AND ACTOR ANTHONY MACKIE TO HOST THE "2022 CMT MUSIC AWARDS," MONDAY, APRIL 11 ON CBS

Country Music's Only Entirely Fan-Voted Awards Show to Air LIVE from Nashville

2022 Nominations to be Announced Wednesday, March 16

"CMT Music Awards Extended Cut" to Air Friday, April 15 with All-New Performances and Bonus Content on CMT

CBS and CMT announced today that country music star Kelsea Ballerini and actor Anthony Mackie will take the stage as co-hosts of the 2022 CMT MUSIC AWARDS, country music's only entirely fan-voted awards show, broadcasting LIVE on Monday, April 11 (8:00-11:00 PM LIVE ET/delayed PT) from Nashville's historic Municipal Auditorium, and various locations in and around Nashville. This will be the inaugural broadcast of the CMT MUSIC AWARDS on the CBS Television Network, as Paramount's signature country music tentpole celebrates the hottest stars with high-powered, cross-genre performances from in and around Music City. The show will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+*.

This marks Mackie's first time as host, after he presented the highly coveted Video of the Year award last year. Ballerini returns to host for the second consecutive year. Nominations for the 2022 CMT MUSIC AWARDS will be announced on Wednesday, March 16, in tandem with the start of fan voting at vote.cmt.com. Additional details about nominations, performers and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

"We couldn't pass up the opportunity to pair one of the biggest names in country music with one of the world's most electrifying superheroes to host our biggest CMT MUSIC AWARDS ever," said Margaret Comeaux, John Hamlin and Leslie Fram, executive producers, CMT MUSIC AWARDS. "Kelsea and Anthony are each wildly successful in their own right, and combined, they bring mega star power that transcends the worlds of music, film and pop culture with a supersized fan base. We know this dynamic duo is the perfect pairing to bring our show to the next level, as we reach our largest global audience ever, LIVE on CBS."

"I'm thrilled to be returning as host at this year's CMT Awards with Anthony Mackie," said Kelsea Ballerini. "This award show is always a special one, as it revolves around the fans and celebrates their favorite artists. This year is especially cool to be a part of as CMT grows into a network spot and expands for even more fans to get involved. It's going to be a big one and I can't wait!"

"I had the pleasure of presenting at last year's CMT Music Awards and received the warmest welcome from the country music community and the city of Nashville," said Anthony Mackie. "I can't wait to get back to Music City to co-host this year's awards with the amazing Kelsea Ballerini."

Additionally, CMT will air CMT MUSIC AWARDS EXTENDED CUT with an added 30 minutes of new performances and extra bonus content on Friday, April 15 (8:00-11:30 PM, ET), exclusively on CMT. Additional details on the special encore presentation and CMT MUSIC AWARDS WEEK programming will be announced at a later date.

The 2022 CMT MUSIC AWARDS are executive produced by Margaret Comeaux (CMT), John Hamlin (Switched On Entertainment), Leslie Fram (CMT) and Jason Owen (Sandbox Entertainment). Patrizia DiMaria (Ladypants Productions) is co-executive producer; Jackie Barba and Heather D. Graffagnino are executives in charge of production; and Shanna Strassberg and Taryn Hurd are talent producers.

For more information, visit CMT.com, follow @CMT on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok, use hashtag #CMTawards and 'like' the CMT Music Awards on Facebook.

About the CMT MUSIC AWARDS

Celebrated for its high-powered, world-premiere and cross-genre performances, the CMT MUSIC AWARDS have aired live since 2005, delivering Nashville's biggest party to music fans across the globe. The 2021 show, hosted by superstars Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown, featured the most first-time collaborations and blended-genre pairings in show history. Standout performances included H.E.R. + Chris Stapleton, Gladys Knight, Mickey Guyton + BRELAND, and NEEDTOBREATHE + Carrie Underwood, who remains the most-awarded artist in CMT Awards history with 23 wins. More information on this year's show is available here.

*Paramount+ Premium subscribers will have access to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service as well as on demand. Essential-tier subscribers will have access to on-demand the day after the special airs.