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CMT and Rooftop Comedy Search for America's "Next Big Comic"

February 8, 2010

Twelve of the Best New Voices in Comedy Compete for a Spot at the 2010 Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival

Finalists to be Featured Throughout CMT's BIG NEW COMEDY WEEK

NASHVILLE – February 8, 2010 – CMT and Rooftop Comedy have partnered in a national online search for America's NEXT BIG COMIC. The competition launched today at CMT.com, where 12 of the best new voices in comedy will battle it out for fan affection and a chance to perform at the 2010 Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival in June. Rooftop Comedy, the leading distributor of interactive comedy videos, scoured talent from across its network of 21 performance venues to hand pick 12 finalists on the verge of breaking out.

The five-week online competition is the precursor leading into CMT's BIG NEW COMEDY WEEK, which kicks off March 8 and is a weeklong comedy celebration starring some of the nation's hottest comics, including Melissa Peterman, Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Larry The Cable Guy, Ron White, Brian Regan and Jim Gaffigan. The final four contestants will be featured in short video introductions on-air throughout CMT's comic-themed week, with the final winner to be revealed March 15.

"CMT fans love to laugh, and we have just the cast of comics to help them do that," said Lewis Bogach, Vice President of Production at CMT. "This partnership with Rooftop Comedy is a great way to bring our audience more of the content they love, while giving these undiscovered comics a national audience."

"We couldn't be more excited to be working with CMT to help find America's Next Big Comic," said Will C. Rogers, CEO of Rooftop Comedy. "Recording from our nationwide network of comedy clubs gives us a unique opportunity to identify comics on the verge of really taking off. Now this competition gives America the opportunity to see – and determine – who is going to be the next big star."

Each week, viewers can watch new material from remaining comics at CMT.com. The field narrows from 12 to eight on February 15, and again from eight to the remaining four on February 22. In the final round, contestants will have three weeks to dazzle America with their style of comedy when they must share the stage in a head-to-head battle for the title of NEXT BIG COMIC.

The top 12 finalists for NEXT BIG COMIC were revealed at CMT.com today, and include:

Comic Name		Hometown	Current Location
Roy	Wood, Jr.	Birmingham, AL	Los Angeles, CA
Josh	Sneed	Cincinnatti, OH	Cincinnatti, OH
Pete	Lee	Minneapolis, MN	New York, NY
Dwayne	Perkins	New York, NY	Los Angeles, CA
Jamie	Lissow	Rochester, NY	Rochester, NY
John	Ramsey	Friendstown, TX	Austin, TX
Jessi	Campbell	Minneapolis, MN	Minneapolis, MN
Andy	Richie	Minneapolis, MN	Austin, TX
Chad	Daniels	Fergus Falls, MN	Fergus Falls, MN
Keith	Alberstadt	Nashville, TN	New York, NY
Ryan	Singer	Dayton, OH	Cincinnatti, OH
Lachlan	Patterson	Vancouver, BC	Los Angeles, CA

Visit CMT's press-only Web site www.cmtpress.com for more information and downloadable photos on all of CMT's programming.

CMT, a unit of Viacom's MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 90 million homes in the U.S. CMT and its website, CMT.com, offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and is the top resource for country music on demand. The network's digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.

Rooftop Comedy, a unit of Rooftop Media, Inc., is the leading producer of interactive comedy programming and comedic branded entertainment. Rooftop Comedy records live comedy performances 365 nights a year from its network of comedy clubs around the world, distributing original comedy programming to cable, broadcast, web, mobile and print channels.

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