It has been considered something
of a trend that award-presenting shows in general have been in something of a
decline with regards to viewership. There are several factors as to why that were
so, some rooted in the political atmosphere of the US. The Video Music Awards (VMAs)
of Viacom’s flagship cable channel MTV is no exception, as it has been tracking
decreasing ratings over the past few years. In their case it might also be
added that it simply is because MTV today is a rather different animal from the
“Music Television” that it was in decades past. That will explain the dearth in
ratings of the 2019 VMAs.
But as The Hollywood Reporter explains, despite this year being the third
straight that the MTV Video Music Awards has registered an all-time ratings low
not all of it has been bad news. The 2019 VMAs, held this Monday, August 26, in
New Jersey for the first time in its history, may have only 1.93 million viewers
and a rating of 0.9 to adult viewers aged 18-49 compared to 2018’s 2.25 million
and 1.1 rating, but the decline had not been as sharp as from the years prior
to 2018.
Whereas the conventional viewership
for the VMAs has dwindled, somehow it managed to gain good numbers in terms of
social media and online viewing. To wit, they have recorded an 85% uptick year
to year in that sector leading up to the 2019 awards. An increase in viewership
for older adults of the 25-54 age range was also noted, presumably due to
comedian Sebastian Maniscalco being tapped as the VMAs host for this year. Then
there was the presence of music stars favored by that particular generation
such as Queen Latifah and (Video Vanguard Award winner that evening) Missy
Elliot.
Aside from MTV itself, Viacom saw
to it that the 2019 VMAs were simulcast on all its major channels such as VH1,
Paramount Network, BET, MTV2, CMT, MTV Classic, Nickelodeon and many others.
That still did not quite help with the TV viewership numbers and ratings as
already stated beforehand, but as it turns out the figures in question were at
least better than the 2019 editions of the MTV Movie and TV Awards, Billboard
Music Awards, Tony Awards and Teen Choice Awards. While the trend of awards
show still look to be a downward slid for the most part, for the VMAs at least
they have managed to find a new avenue for support.
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