After the Academy of Country Music Awards’ 57th annual ceremony made its mark earlier this year as the first major music awards show to be streamed exclusively before a global audience, via Prime Video, the country music awards show will return to Prime Video in 2023, in collaboration with the Academy of Country Music and MRC.
The 58th annual Academy of Country Music Awards will stream on Thursday, May 11, 2023, from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. It will be the first awards show to take place at Ford Center, which opened in 2016.
Ford Center at The Star in Frisco serves as the practice facility for the Dallas Cowboys, as well as the home for many major sporting events throughout the year. The 58th annual ACM Awards will also mark a return to Texas for the first time since the awards show’s 50th ACM Awards, which was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in 2015.
“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.”
Raj Kapoor is slated to serve as executive producer for the show, bringing in experience from work on previous ACM Awards, in addition to the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards and several Las Vegas residencies including Shania Twain‘s, as well as concert tours for Jason Aldean, Jonas Brothers, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill and Carrie Underwood. Kapoor was show-runner for the 64th annual Grammy Awards in April, his first time serving in that capacity on that show.
“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.”
The 57th annual ACM Awards aired across Prime Video, Amazon Music, Amazon Fashion, Amazon Freevee, Amazon Live and more. Last week, the event earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. The ACM Awards previously aired on CBS, and the 2022 awards show marked the first time since 1972 that the ACM Awards had not been broadcast on one of the major television networks.
“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.”
MRC is a co-owner of Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter through a joint venture with Penske Media titled P-MRC.
