NASHVILLE – June 6, 2006 – Comedian Bill Engvall will host CMT’s new half-hour series, COUNTRY FRIED HOME VIDEOS, beginning Friday, June 30 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The nine episode series features real home videos shot by real people, showing what real Americans do for fun. COUNTRY FRIED HOME VIDEOS originally aired on CMT as a half-hour special last March.

“COUNTRY FRIED HOME VIDEOS is pure, escapist entertainment, that allows our viewers to have starring roles in some of funniest and most incredible videos you’ll ever see,” said Paul Villadolid, vice president of programming and development, CMT. “And Bill Engvall is the perfect host with the perfect comedic sensibility for this new series.”

”I am thrilled that CMT has asked me to host this show,” commented Engvall. “This is a show that the whole family will watch and a show that people will talk about around the water cooler or keg depending on where they work. I thought that I had seen everything, ooooh I was so wrong.”

What makes a home video “country fried”? It could be a belly flopping contest in a mud puddle; shot gun bowling in the backyard; or even the age old favorite, bobbing for trout. Fans interested in submitting their very own “country fried” home movies can go to CMT.com, where they can also check out the best full length clips from each week’s episode.

Bill Engvall is one of the members of the hugely successful phenomenon “Blue Collar Comedy Tour.” He is a platinum selling recording artist and has three DVDs certified multi-platinum. His first CD, “Here’s Your Sign,” is one of the bestselling comedy albums of the past decade. He co-starred in “Blue Collar TV” and is starring in the movie "Delta Farce" with Larry the Cable Guy, which will be released in the first quarter of 2007.

COUNTRY FRIED HOME VIDEOS is produced by Mack and Bradley Anderson of First Television (“Maximum Exposure, “Battlebots,” “Trigger Happy TV”). Paul Villadolid serves as executive in charge of production for CMT and Nicole Zien is executive producer for CMT.

CMT, America’s No. 1 country music network, carries original programming, specials, and live concerts and events, as well as a mix of videos by established country music artists and new cutting-edge acts, including world premiere exclusive videos. Founded March 6, 1983, CMT, owned and operated by MTV Networks, reaches more than 82.5 million households in the United States. Go to country music’s biggest web site at www.cmt.com.