THE ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS TO RETURN TO PRIME VIDEO IN EXCLUSIVE LIVESTREAM AND 360-DEGREE IMMERSIVE FAN-FIRST EVENT FOR A GLOBAL AUDIENCE

The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards set for Thursday, May 11, 2023 from Ford Center at the Star—World Headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys—in Frisco, Texas

Raj Kapoor to serve as executive producer

In collaboration with the Academy of Country Music and MRC, the 2022 awards—which recently received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination—marked the first time a major award show livestreamed globally and exclusively

CULVER CITY, California—July 19, 2022—Prime Video today announced the return of the Academy of Country Music Awards, in collaboration with the Academy of Country Music and MRC, which will livestream exclusively for a global audience in 2023 from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The 2023 awards show, the 58th annual ACM show, is set for Thursday, May 11, 2023. Additional details, including award submissions timeline, hosts and performers, and ticket sale details, will be confirmed in the months ahead.

The renewal comes on the heels of the 57th annual awards, which was the first major awards show to stream live exclusively for a global audience and delivered a nonstop concert event that put fans at center stage across Prime Video, Amazon Music, Amazon Fashion, Amazon Freevee, Amazon Live, and more. The 2022 ACM Awards, which recently received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, is still available on demand on Prime Video, Amazon Freevee, and Amazon Music Unlimited as it originally aired, as well as in an encore edition that contains only the performances. Exclusive merchandise from the biggest names in country music and limited-edition 57th ACM Awards products are still available in our ACM Awards storefront.

The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards is produced by MRC Live & Alternative. Raj Kapoor will serve as executive producer, bringing experience from his work on previous ACM Awards, as well as the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, numerous Vegas music residencies including Shania Twain, and large-scale concert tours including Jason Aldean, Jonas Brothers, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, and Carrie Underwood. Damon Whiteside is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.

“We are thrilled to once again bring the Emmy Award-nominated Academy of Country Music Awards to our global audience,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios. “The 2022 show gave viewers an immersive, fan-first nonstop event, showcasing the ability to create dynamic experiences across Amazon even after the live show ends. We are excited to join with the Academy of Country Music and MRC for 2023 once again and to help redefine the award show experience for fans.”

“The Academy is proud to extend our relationship with Amazon to once again deliver the ACM Awards live to a global audience on Prime Video,” said Academy of Country Music CEO Damon Whiteside. “The March 2022 show was a defining moment for the ACM and a huge step forward for country music, allowing audiences around the world to see their favorite artists perform live and be recognized for their excellence. We can’t wait to take the show to a new level for fans with an exciting new venue and integrated partnership with the Dallas Cowboys.”

“This was a paradigm shift for the Academy of Country Music Awards to move to streaming in its 57th year and we owe its success to the impressive team at Amazon who unlocked tremendous value across their services,” said MRC Live & Alternative President Adam Stotsky. “We are excited to name Raj Kapoor as Executive Producer and to deliver an immersive experience that continues to unlock a powerful value proposition for artists and consumers alike and presents country music in a new and different way on a global stage.”

“Country is a cornerstone of Amazon Music,” said Ryan Redington, VP of music industry at Amazon Music. “This year’s event paved the way for an incredibly powerful, cross-Amazon collaboration for one of the biggest country music moments of the year and we look forward to expanding to new heights in celebration of the 2023 nominees.”

The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards will mark a return to Texas for the first time since the landmark 50th ACM Awards, which took place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington in 2015. Ford Center at The Star in Frisco opened in 2016 and serves as the state-of-the-art practice facility for the Dallas Cowboys, as well as the home for many major sporting events throughout the year. The 58th ACM Awards will be the first awards show to take place at Ford Center.

The 2022 show, hosted by Dolly Parton with co-hosts Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett, was a two-hour nonstop concert streamed live globally on Prime Video from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The night featured an all-star lineup of memorable moments and collaborations, including 22 performances from 28 artists including all three hosts, Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Amazon Music Breakthrough Artist BRELAND, Brothers Osborne, Blanco Brown, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Kelly Clarkson, Jordan Davis, Brooke Eden, Walker Hayes, Lady A, Ashley McBryde, Parker McCollum, Maren Morris, Parmalee, Carly Pearce, Thomas Rhett, Brittney Spencer, Chris Stapleton, Mitchell Tenpenny, Carrie Underwood, Lainey Wilson, and Chris Young. In the lead-up to the live show, the Official ACM Awards Red Carpet Show streamed live on Prime Video and was hosted by Priscilla Block, Kristin Cavallari, Zuri Hall, and Elaina Smith, giving fans the party before the party and access to all the excitement from the carpet, along with special performances by duo Kat & Alex and ACM Award-winner Tenille Townes. The show was executive produced by R. A. Clark, who for over two decades has steered the ACM Awards to excellence. He oversaw the Emmy-nominated production team and was instrumental in launching the show’s new home on Prime Video. 

The Academy’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year, was awarded to Miranda Lambert for the first time. Her wins at the 57th ACM Awards bring her total ACM Awards count to 37, making her the most awarded artist in ACM Awards history. Lainey Wilson led the night in total wins with three, followed by Lambert and Carly Pearce with two wins apiece.

Highlights of the Amazon 360 experience included: 

• Amazon Live streamed an interactive, shoppable version of Prime Video’s red carpet preshow, appearing on prominent Amazon placements including the Amazon Homepage, the ACM Awards Storefront, Amazon Fashion homepage, and the Amazon Live homepage. Customers could interact with hosts, artists, and celebrities via the Amazon Live chat feature and seamlessly shop the product carousel, featuring top artist merchandise and Amazon Fashion curations, including exclusive merchandise from Dolly Parton and a host of other country stars.
• Amazon Fashion’s red carpet livestream on TikTok looked at country music’s hottest trends in the lead up to the live show with entertainment correspondent Makho Ndlovu (@makhondlovu) and special appearances by Claudia Oshry (@girlwithnojob), Gabi Daiagi (@gabidaiagi), and Lauren Wolfe (@laurenwolfe).
• Viewers were able to shop Amazon Fashion for fan gear to celebrate country music artists, including Dolly Parton and Walker Hayes, as well as curations, including Best of the West, Boots Made for Walking, and Inspired by the Red Carpet, directly from the livestream. All of the collections are still available to shop.
• Customers have the opportunity to support Lifting Lives, ACM’s philanthropic arm dedicated to harnessing the power of the country music community and partners to provide aid in times of need, with a focus on health-related initiatives, at no cost when they shop through AmazonSmile.
• New episodes of the Amazon Original podcast, Country Heat Weekly on March 3 and March 10, gave fans a special deep dive into the world of the Academy of Country Music Awards. Podcast hosts Kelly Sutton and Amber Anderson reported live from Allegiant Stadium, and hosted the first Amazon Music preshow event on Sunday, March 6 and live from the red carpet via the Amazon Music channel on Twitch.
  • Amazon Music announced last fall that its global music brand Country Heat had surpassed 13 billion streams in the U.S. since its first station launched in October 2016, showcasing Amazon customers’ love for country music. 

About the Academy of Country Music:   

Founded in Southern California in 1964 as a regional trade organization, the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC (ACM) has grown in the almost-60 years since into a leading association for the Country Music industry. Today, the Academy boasts more than 4,600 professional members nationwide and serves as a powerhouse advocate for Country fans, artists, and all facets of the business, as well as a supporter of philanthropic work through charitable arm ACM LIFTING LIVES, which harnesses the power of the Country Music community and partners to provide aid in times of need, with a focus on health-related initiatives. 2022 continues to be a landmark year for the Academy, with the relocation of the organization’s headquarters to Nashville after decades in Los Angeles, and, in a historic partnership with Amazon, its iconic Academy of Country Music Awards streamed live on Prime Video in 235 territories all over the globe, the first time a major awards show has streamed exclusively. For more information, log onto www.ACMcountry.com or www.ACMLiftingLives.org.      

About MRC Live & Alternative:

MRC Live & Alternative, a division of global entertainment company MRC, is the world's largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming with the "Academy of Country Music Awards," "American Music Awards," "Billboard Music Awards," "Golden Globe Awards," "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest," “So You Think You Can Dance,” and the “Streamy Awards.” MRC Live & Alternative owns one of the world's most extensive and unique entertainment archive libraries with more than 60 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. For more information please visit: www.mrcentertainment.com.

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About The Star:

The Star is the 91-acre campus of the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters and training facility in Frisco, Texas. Developed as a first-of-its-kind partnership between the City of Frisco, Frisco ISD and the Dallas Cowboys, The Star features Ford Center, a 12,000-seat stadium that hosts Frisco ISD football games, concerts and other events; Cowboys Fit, a 60,000 square-foot gym developed in partnership with leading fitness developer, Mark Mastrov; Cowboys Club, a members-only club where the country club meets the NFL; the Omni Frisco Hotel, a 16-floor, 300-room luxury hotel; Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy & Research at The Star, a 300,000 square-foot center of excellence for sports medicine; Twelve Cowboys Way, a 17-story, luxury residential tower in partnership between Pro Football Hall-of-Fame Quarterback #12 Roger Staubach, and Dallas-based developer and former Dallas Cowboys center, Robert Shaw; Formation, a dynamic coworking experience offering a collaborative work environment of open workspace, dedicated desks and private offices; as well as a variety of shopping, dining and nightlife options throughout The Star District. For more information on The Star, visit www.TheStarInFrisco.com.