This Site is dedicated to all of  those creative and  entreprenurial spirits who made this channel happen. Below is a partial list and the years they were involved. We went on air as the first Country Music Network in March 1983.. with...673,000 homes via broadcast and cable tv

...more to come

We salute...Joe Corazzi.1979..Gerald A Bartell 1982.Jane A  Bartell 1982...Glenn Daniels Family ..1983..Meyer Blinder..1983 Mark Goldberg 1983..Jim Padgett  1983...Victor Sayyah.. 1983..Robert Zraick 1983...Dave Stoltz..1983 Carl Savatiel 1983  Stanley Hubbard, 1983..Jerry Danziger...1983..Gene Petrillo 1983...Jim Cavazzini..1983...Mr. Biggers...1983..Mr. Hardaway..1983..Twitty City ...1983... FX.Sillerman...1989

.. Gaylord Entertainment..1989.....Westinghouse..1997  ... Viacom...1999..... 90 Million Homes (.2009)..

CMTV''', is an initialism for '''C'''ountry '''M'''usic '''T'''ele'''v'''ision, 

The concept of a country music cable network had been brewing in Glenn D. Daniels' mind and in Telstar Corporation business plans for several years. Telstar saw the need for programming services in must carry relaxed environment and Telstar Prexy Corazzi gave a speech about his Country music and LV entertainment and his early plans at Cable marketing convention CTAM in early 1979. At the same CTAM MTV was being discussed. The “C” mtv brand seemed a natural extension to Corazi and Telstar began to plan a MTV “sister” country network.  Glenn likewise saw the rise of cable television and the potential to program "radio for video."  When MTV began airing on Hendersonville, TN's Parcable cable television service, Daniels felt the time was right for a country music video television network, offering an alternative to the 24-hour rock music format with around the clock country music performances. A mutual friend, Mark Goldberg, suggested that the principals of Telstar meet with Daniel’s and possibly join forces. Telstar at the time was constructing studios in Denver to originate its CMTV service. The 2 business groups joined together and began the network in very quick fashion as Daniels had studio/some initial programming and Telstar had arranged a satellite transmitter called an uplink to be delivered to Hendersonville, and Telstar paid for Satellite transponder time with AT&T to beam the signal nationwide to its customers including a growing network of Hotel customers. Telstar had the needed funding and expertise to launch the service Internationally.  

CMTV logos and advertising were then designed and originated by Telstar from its earlier work on the Network before joining with Daniels and pursued as an international cable-TV/Broadcast/DBS project. CMTV was initially broadcast from the Daniels family studios in Hendersonville and brought to the national and international market by Telstar corporation its cable contacts and its principals Gerald A. Bartell and Joe Corazzi and Jim Cavazzini a long time Telstar associate. Bartell and Corazzi contributed the initial startup capital and gathered the early investor group which included broadcasting mogul Robert FX Sillerman who later went on to purchase the Network and later went on to also purchase the Elvis Presley Estate.  Other prominent investors included local Nashville businessman Mr. H Hardaway who at the time was responsible for building the Opryland Hotel and Entertainment Center. Bartell and Corazzi also assembled the first advertising contracts for the fledgling Network through Darcy McManus and Masius and Budweiser as the Network’s first advertising client. Two of the  co-founders Bartell and Corazzi arranged a contract with Hubbard Broadcasting to be the first Client to carry the Network at its Albuquerque KOB TV station and Minneapolis affiliate KSTP. The network launched on March 5, 1983, at 6:19 CT, pre-ceeding The Nashville Network  (TNN), to air by two days.  The first video clip to air on CMT was Farron Young's 1971 hit "It's Four in the Morning". Daniels served as the program director and the first president of the network.

 Despite Bartell having a broadcast facilities called WMTV before CMTV launched called , Warner Bros filed a suit to claim their MTV mark was being confused CMTV. Telstar received a fee from the proceeding suit and settlement and voluntarily dropped the V from its name . The service is now known as CMT.