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Tweet and greet,
with a country twang


'CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock'

Sep 1, 2010
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It's not one of country music's most popular festivals, but tonight's "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" could do well enough to boost ABC to victory on a night where it usually lags behind.

"Rock," which airs from 8 to 11 p.m., averaged a 2.1 adults 18-49 rating last year, up 50 percent over 2008, according to Nielsen, and nearly double what ABC's usual Wednesday night repeats averaged last week.

Why the big bump last year?

Well, the viewership certainly depends in part on who's performing, and this year popular artists including Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum will make appearances.

But the show also got a boost last year from a new gimmick that featured live interaction between country music stars and viewers, who could log on to ABC.com to see a list of tweets from artists featured in the show. Viewers could then tweet in response. According to the CMA, the so-called tweet-and-greet was one of the top 10 trending topics on Twitter that day.

This year, ABC is planning to do the tweet-and-greet again, with Tim McGraw, Julianne Hough, Reba McEntire and Keith Urban among those participating.

Still, it does face tougher competition than last year, when it aired on a Monday against mostly repeats. NBC's "America's Got Talent" announces its final five semifinalists tonight, and Fox's has the steady "MasterChef," which won the night last week.


A look at this week’s top TV draws

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

Time

Network

Program

Description

7 a.m.

NBC

"Today" (N)

Former tennis star Andre Agassi guests.

7 p.m.

ESPN

"Major League Baseball" (S)

The A's face the Yankees in New York.

8 p.m.

ABC

"CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" (A)

Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood are among the many performers, with host Tim McGraw.

8 p.m.

CBS

"Big Brother" (R)

Had a good ratings week last week, will it continue?

8 p.m.

Fox

"MasterChef" (R)

The contestants attempt to cater a high-end wedding.

9 p.m.

NBC

"America's Got Talent" (R)

Five more acts make it to the top 10.

10 p.m.

HBO

"Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets" (R)

The team prepares for its third preseason game.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2

Time

Network

Program

Description

7 a.m.

ABC

"Good Morning America" (N)

Christiane Amanpour reflects on her interview with Tony Blair, and Steffi Graf talks U.S. Open.

7:30 p.m.

ESPN

"College Football" (S)

Yes, meaningful games are already here. Tonight it's Southern Mississippi-South Carolina.

8 p.m.

CBS

"Big Brother" (R)

Someone is eliminated, and the head of household competition is held.

9 p.m.

Bravo

"Real Housewives of D.C." (R)

Michaele, Stacie and their husbands take a trip to Paris.

9 p.m.

Lifetime

"Project Runway" (R)

The designers re-design old bridesmaid dresses.

10 p.m.

Comedy Central

"Futurama" (C)

There's a battle for mutant rights in the show's 100th episode and season finale.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3

Time

Network

Program

Description

7 p.m.

ESPN2

"Tennis" (S)

More coverage of the U.S. Open from New York.

8 p.m.

Disney Channel

"Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam" (M)

Should perform well, considering Disney's been pushing it all summer.

9 p.m.

National Geographic Channel

"Dangerous Encounters" (N)

It doesn't get much more dangerous than encountering bears in Alaska.

10 p.m.

CBS

"Flashpoint" (D)

The SRU crew looks into shots fired in an affluent neighborhood.

10 p.m.

Discovery Channel

"Beyond Survival with Les Stroud" (N)

Les hangs out with Malaysian sea gypsies.

11:35 p.m.

NBC

"Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (T)

Comedian Louis C.K. guests.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4

Time

Network

Program

Description

11 a.m.

CBS

"Tennis" (S)

Coverage of the U.S. Open as it hits the halfway point.

3:30 p.m.

NBC

"College Football" (S)

Notre Dame opens the season at home against Purdue.

4 p.m.

Fox

"Major League Baseball" (S)

Baseball action with just about a month left in the season.

8 p.m.

ABC

"College Football" (S)

Two top-25 teams, LSU and North Carolina, battle in Atlanta.

8:30 p.m.

Univision

"Soccer" (S)

A friendly between Mexico and Ecuador.

9 p.m.

Fox

"America's Most Wanted" (N)

A recap of cases from the past season.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5

Time

Network

Program

Description

3 p.m.

NBC

"PGA Golf" (S)

Third round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.

7:30 p.m.

ESPN

"NASCAR Racing" (S)

A Sprint Cup race in Atlanta.

8 p.m.

ESPN2

"Major League Baseball" (S)

West Coast rivalry game between the Giants and Dodgers.

9 p.m.

Style Network

"Mel B: It's a Scary World" (R)

Series premiere. Following former Spice Girl Melanie Brown.

10 p.m.

E!

"Keeping Up with the Kardashians" (R)

Khloe loses her engagement ring and doesn't want to tell Lamar.

10 p.m.

AMC

"Mad Men" (D)

This one's simply called "The Suitcase."

A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.


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Louisa Ada Seltzer is a staff writer for Media Life.




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