Your voice counts for the newest primetime country awards show. NBCUniversal announced on Thursday (March 9) the People's Choice Country Awards, an extension of the pop culture-spanning People's Choice Awards. The partnership with the Grand Ole Opry will air in September on NBC and its streaming service, Peacock.
"We're excited to partner with the Grand Ole Opry to bring the year's biggest celebration in country music to Nashville," said Cassandra Tryon, Senior Vice President, Live Events, NBCUniversal Television & Streaming, in a press release. "Country fans are passionate about their music and there's no better place to host this event than from country music's biggest stage."
The broadcast will air live from the historic Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville and, per a press release, will "lean into the rich connection between country music and the Opry through chart-topping musical performances, genre-bending collaborations, legendary tributes and surprise moments that regularly happen from the iconic venue."
It's being billed as the "only award show for the people and by the people." The CMT Music Awards incorporates fan voting, but its categories focus on music videos and CMT programming. Honorary awards are being teased for the People's Choice Country Awards and, in all likelihood, other trophies will recognize the best new and established artists in the genre.
Plus, the show will use its social media platforms to offer behind the scenes glances to fans through All-Access Live and connect "country's most popular stars with their biggest fans."
The partnership builds off NBCUniversal's fiscal connection to the Opry. In April 2022, the network and investment partner Atairos paid $293 million for a 30 percent stake in the Grand Ole Opry and related country music properties: namely the Opry's radio home, WSM-AM, and Blake Shelton's chain of Ole Red restaurants. In addition, NBCUniversal purchased a 50 percent interest in Opry-adjacent television network Circle.
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