The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards, or the CMAs, and not to be confused with the ACM Awards, are voted on by business members of the Country Music Association. The first CMA awards were presented at an untelevised ceremony in Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium in 1967. (The Entertainer of the Year award that night went to Eddy Arnold.) The second annual CMA awards were presented in October 1968; NBC taped the ceremony and broadcast it a few weeks later). Beginning in 1969, the awards were televised live, usually during October or November of each year. They continued to be broadcast on NBC until switching to CBS in 1972, where they remained until 2005. Starting in November 2006, the Annual CMA Awards are televised on ABC. The CMA Awards, for many years, were held at the home of Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry; initially at the Ryman Auditorium, and from 1974 to 2004 at the Grand Ole Opry House. The 2005 ceremonies took place in New York City at Madison Square Garden. The awards show has been held at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena since 2006.
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