As every year, the debate about whether the VMAs are dead returned to social media promptly for its scheduled moment. As soon as the ceremony aired, doomsayers were back, predicting its end. This time fueled by a handful of tweets containing misinformation claiming the worst audience in years for the ceremony: allegedly 2 million viewers compared to 6 million last year.
Our forums, those of Popsquare and social networks alike, filled with opinions pointing to a scarcity of notable performances and superstars—Madonna and Taylor Swift aside—or to the end of monoculture. But the numbers circulating yesterday were fake.
Variety actually points to the best VMAs audience in 11 years, exactly since 2015. 8.4 million viewers watched the ceremony in the United States, with Madonna’s performance the most watched, tallying 15 million viewers.
The decision to air the ceremony after a game benefited CBS’s programming. On that network it drew 7.6 million viewers, a 50% increase from the year before. And on MTV another 700,000 watched, up 40% from last year. And perhaps what was missed were surprises, a possible Beyoncé or Rihanna album announcement—but is there an alternative that could surpass the VMAs, a show that, after all, brought together the era’s greatest survivor of pop from the 20th century and the best-selling artist of the 21st?
Another question is the missed opportunity that arises from not sharing full videos of performances once the ceremony ends. Only GENER8TION and Bruno Mars—who performed a pre-recorded set—appeared instantly on MTV’s YouTube channel. Nearly 24 hours after the ceremony, the George Michael tribute appeared.
At the time of writing this article, up to seven videos remain hidden on the YouTube channel. They are believed to be performances by Madonna, RAYE, Kacey Musgraves, Lisa, Shaboozey, or Sienna Spiro. What are they waiting for?
