ABC's Nashville renewed for season 3

ABC's "Nashville" has been renewed. The news was announced by Ben Sherwood, co-president of Disney ABC Television Group, at 11:36 p.m. CT.

"Congratz and welcome back for Season 3 to @Nashville_ABC," he tweeted, naming stars Connie Britton, Charles Esten, creator Callie Khouri and "the whole Nashville team and loyal fans." 

According to a tweet from the show's transmedia producer, Geoffrey Colo, the show will return for a full 22-episode season.

"Nashville" had been considered "on the bubble" between renewal and cancellation throughout its second season. The Nielsen company reported that it has averaged 4.5 million viewers in season 2, which is a 9 percent decrease from its first season.

But as a musical force and multmedia brand, it has continued to grow. The show released its fourth soundtrack album with Big Machine Records earlier this month, with more than 600,000 total albums sold to date. The top-selling digital track — one of dozens offered on iTunes — has been downloaded more than 190,000 times.

The question of where the show will be produced also remains up in the air. Last month, sources revealed to The Tennessean that executives involved with the show had explored the option of moving the production to other states, scouting locations in Texas and Georgia. In its first two seasons, "Nashville" has been shot exclusively in and around Music City, both on location and an East Nashville soundstage.

Its future as a local product may depend on economic incentives from state and local government. For season 2, the state contributed $12.5 million, Metro gave $500,000 and the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. added $125,000.

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Source: The Tennessean