The show began as the Music City News Awards in 1967.
The award show partnered with the Grand Ole Opry-owned The Nashville Network (TNN) in 1990 to become the TNN Music City News Country Awards.
After Music City News ceased publication in 1999, Country Weekly assumed the role of presenting sponsor of the awards show in 2000.
In 2001, after MTV acquired CBS' cable operations, the show moved to CMT, where it was retooled and renamed to the CMT Flameworthy Video Music Awards in 2002.
Below is a list of ceremonies, the years the ceremonies were held, their hosts, the television networks that aired them, and their locations: Below is a list of winners in the major categories by year.