Viewing of the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards was up year to year, whether measuring by traditional TV ratings or more recent cross-platform consumption.
According to preliminary Nielsen figures, the awards, a preshow and two on-air replays averaged 3.9 million viewers across 12 Paramount Global cable channels and broadcast network The CW. That’s up from 3.7 million for the 2021 awards and associated programming, a gain of 3 percent year to year.
Measuring across TV, streaming and social platforms, Paramount says viewers watched 1.59 billion minutes of VMAs content, a 14 percent bump over 1.4 billion minutes a year ago. The total consumption figure has grown for two consecutive years.
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The total minutes growth was driven by a 79 percent jump in viewing on social media. The VMAs recorded 40 million social interactions, according to analytics firm Talkwalker, up from 38 million for the 2021 show and outpacing both the Super Bowl (for the second straight year) and the Oscars.
In addition to MTV and The CW, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, VH1, Pop, TV Land, CMT, MTV2, Logo, BET, BET Her and Nick at Nite carried the VMAs telecast Sunday night.
The on-air audience for the awards was spread pretty well across Paramount’s cable outlets and The CW, with nine of the 13 channels averaging more than 100,000 viewers. MTV led the group with 705,000 viewers (vs. 900,000 last year). The CW (581,000), BET (316,000) and VH1 (221,000) also topped the 200,000 viewer threshold.
Aug. 30, 8:45 a.m. Updated with final on-air ratings for Sunday.
