TAYLOR SWIFT ANNOUNCES SELECT 2011 CMA BROADCAST AWARDS WINNERS
NASHVILLE – Five-time 2011 CMA Award Nominee Taylor Swift surprised several radio stations and broadcast professionals across the United States this morning by personally notifying them of their CMA Broadcast Award wins. Swift spread the good news by calling Major, Large, Medium, and Small Market Station and Large, Medium, and Small Market Broadcast Personality of the Year winners from her Nashville home.
The Major Market Broadcast Personality winner will be announced later this afternoon. The CMA National Broadcast Personality of the Year winner will be announced tomorrow morning. The CMA Broadcast Personality of the Year and CMA Radio Station of the Year recipients will be recognized during “The 45th Annual CMA Awards,” hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and airing live Wednesday, Nov. 9 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
2011 CMA Broadcast Personality of the Year Winners:
Large Market – Chris Carr, Jeffrey “Maverick” Bolen, and Jason Statt, “Chris Carr & Company,” WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio (Hubbard Broadcasting). This is the first win for the “Chris Carr & Company” after being nominated in 2009 and 2010. Carr is the 2007 CMA Broadcast Award winner for Major Market Broadcast Personality of the Year for his solo work at KEEY in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
Medium Market – Brian Pierce and Kellie Michaels, “Mornings with Brian and Kellie,” KFDI, Wichita, Kan. (Journal Broadcasting Group). This is the first win for Pierce and Michaels after being nominated in 2009 and 2010.
Small Market – Scotty Cox and Carissa Loethen, “Scotty and Carissa in the Morning,” KCLR, Columbia, Mo. (Zimmer Radio, Inc.). This is the first win for Cox and Loethen, who were first nominated in 2010.
2011 CMA Radio Station of the Year Winners:
Major Market –WYCD, Detroit, Mich. (CBS Radio). WYCD is a first time winner after being nominated in 2009 and 2010.
Large Market – WQDR, Raleigh/Durham, N.C. (Curtis Media Group). WQDR is a first time winner after being nominated in 2005, 2009, and 2010.
Medium Market – KATM, Modesto, Calif. (Citadel Media). KATM is a first time winner and nominee.
Small Market – KCLR, Columbia, Mo. (Zimmer Radio, Inc.). This is the first win for KCLR. The station was first nominated in 2010.
Five finalists are selected for Broadcast Personality of the Year and Station of the Year in four categories (small, medium, large, and major market). The categories are established by market size based on population as ranked by Arbitron. Entries for Broadcast Personality of the Year are judged on aircheck, ratings, community involvement, and biographical information. Candidates for Station of the Year are judged on airchecks, ratings history, community involvement, and format leadership.
CMA members who are full-time, on-air personalities and CMA member radio stations in the U.S. and Canada were eligible to enter. The entries were judged by a panel of distinguished broadcast professionals, representing all market sizes and regions. An aggregate score of the first round of judging and the second round, which is done by a different panel of judges, determined the winners. The international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP tabulates scoring by the judges. CMA Broadcast Award winners are not eligible to enter in consecutive years; therefore, those who received trophies in 2010 were not eligible in 2011.
Tickets for “The 45th Annual CMA Awards” are on sale and can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets; by calling (800) 745-3000; or at the Bridgestone Arena Box Office, located at 501 Broadway (corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, Nashville). Ticket prices for the CMA Awards start at $110 for Upper Level seating. Ticket prices include tax, but exclude applicable service fees. Purchase tickets early for the best available seats. In 2009 and 2010, the CMA Awards sold out in advance.
Previously announced performers include Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, Faith Hill, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Swift, and Keith Urban, plus Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter singing their hit collaboration “You and Tequila,” Rascal Flatts and Natasha Bedingfield performing their duet “Easy,” and co-hosts Paisley and Underwood in their first live televised-performance of their No. 1 song “Remind Me.”
“The 45th Annual CMA Awards” is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the Executive Producer, Paul Miller is the Director, and David Wild is the writer. The special will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.