CTV today announced that it has acquired the exclusive Canadian rights to the re-emergence of THE 2011 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS in a multi-year deal. Secured on the heels of a record-breaking awards broadcast season, the acquisition of the newly-imagined awards broadcast augments CTV’s already robust lineup of viewer-favourite, top-rated award shows, including THE ACADEMY AWARDS®, THE GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS® and THE JUNO AWARDS. THE 2011 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS honour music’s most popular artists, live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 22 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV. Broadcast details will be announced in the coming weeks.
“As mass audience television events, award shows have never been more popular,” said Phil King, President, CTV Programming and Sports “THE 2011 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS is a dynamic complement to our industry-leading Event Television lineup.”
CTV’s award show broadcasts have drawn huge audiences and shown amazing year-over-year growth:
• THE 83rd ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS® (+6% A18-49 / 6.3 million total viewers)
• THE 68TH ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBE® AWARDS (+26% A18-49 / 3.4 million total viewers)
• THE 62nd PRIMETIME EMMY® AWARDS (+61% A18-34 / 2.5 million total viewers)
• THE 2011 JUNO AWARDS (+36% A18-49 / 2.4 million total viewers, and the most-watched JUNO AWARDS on record*)
The overall trend in the industry is similar, with THE 53rd ANNUAL GRAMMY® AWARDS demonstrating the same upward ratings trajectory, +39% A18-34 over last year.
THE 2011 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS are the most recent addition to CTV’s Event Television lineup, delivering viewers yet another star-studded, blockbuster celebration of music. The program also provides a bridge between THE JUNOS AWARDS, which CTV recently extended through 2016, into the always popular MUCHMUSIC VIDEO AWARDS, airing this year on June 19.
Awards will be determined through Billboard magazine’s legendary chart rankings, which look at artist performance based on key fan interactions with music (including album, single and digital sales), touring, streaming, and social interactions on websites, including MySpace and Facebook. The measurements are tracked year-round by Billboard and its data partners.
THE 2011 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS are based on the reporting period of February 28, 2010 through March 1, 2011. Top artists will be recognized in a variety of genres including R&B, Rap, Pop, Country, Rock, Latin and Alternative.
THE 2011 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS are co-executive produced by Richard D. Beckman, CEO of Prometheus Global Media, and Don Mischer of Don Mischer Productions.
