TV Ratings: VMAs Rise in Early Numbers
by After a couple of relatively lean years for on-air viewing, the MTV Video Music Awards bounced back some on Tuesday.
Final same-day Nielsen ratings have the show drawing 913,000 viewers on MTV, a 29.5 percent jump from 705,000 for the 2022 VMAs (and also slightly above the 900,000 who watched the 2021 awards on MTV. The VMAs also aired on a host of other Paramount Global cable channels and TelevisaUnivision’s UniMas.
The VMAs showed even bigger improvement in MTV’s core demographics of adults 18-34 — more than doubling last year’s show — and adults 18-49, which was up by 77 percent year to year. The show scored a 1.14 rating among the 18-34 demo in homes where MTV is available (which number about 70 million), the best for the show (again, on MTV alone) since 2019), based on early figures. Its 1.03 rating for adults 18-49 is a three-year high. The VMAs gave MTV its best Tuesday night in both demos in almost a decade — since 2014. (Last year’s awards aired on a Sunday.)
The MTV-only numbers represent just a fraction of the show’s full audience, as the VMAs aired on a dozen other channels in addition to MTV. The CW simulcast the VMAs in 2021 and 2022 but did not this year, which could impact the final same-day totals.
Taylor Swift won video of the year for “Anti-Hero” at the awards, her second consecutive win in the category. The awards also featured an ‘NSync reunion and performances from Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Shakira and a number of hip-hop icons celebrating the 50th year of the genre.
Sept. 13, 3:15 p.m. Updated with final same-day ratings for MTV.
