Country Music Television (CMT) has launched a second screen video app for iOS devices that will tie directly to its programming. To build hype for the app, CMT is pre-releasing the first episode of the new season of “Sweet Home Alabama” – the most-streamed original series in the history of CMT.com – exclusively in the app a week before it premieres on TV. The app will also offer a “Connect” experience that will filter the best tweets and allow fans to connect with the show’s stars or with other fans via the platform. For fans wanting to watch shows via the app, it will feature full episodes of Dog and Beth: On The Hunt, Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making the Team, Cassadee Pope: Frame by Frame, and Trick My Truck as long as users are subscribers of one of ten cable service providers.
“With this launch, we’re giving fans more opportunities to access their favorite shows and characters, while at the same time providing new ways to work with our cable and ad partners,” said Martin Clayton, VP of Connected Content for CMT. “This new app experience will immerse our audience in the CMT brand and allow us to deliver them new video content everyday.”
CMT likely got the idea to launch “Sweet Home Alabama” a week early based on the success of MTV’s decision to do the same when pre-released the entire season of Wait ‘Til Next Year on its own app prior to the show’s TV debut. The pre-release helped drive the app’s biggest streaming week and increased app downloads 47% week-over-week.