Turns out people actually watch the VMAs when CBS and Paramount Plus air them

The expansion to CBS and streaming landed the VMAs its biggest audience in six years.

By Emma Keates | September 9, 2025 | 9:47am

Screenshot: MTV/YouTube

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Turns out people actually watch the VMAs when CBS and Paramount Plus air them

The Video Music Awards may not deliver the same shock and awe they used to, but a bunch of people still tuned in this year. Whether that was in the hopes that something resembling the old days (or, at least, Chappell Roan’s star-making 2024 “Good Luck, Babe!” performance) would happen or because the awards were simply more accessible than previous years is unclear (although it’s likely a little bit of both). Either way, 5.5 million viewers tuned in to watch Sunday’s ceremony, which The Hollywood Reporter marks as a 42% increase from last year. That’s the most viewership for the show in six years.

This year, the ceremony aired on both Paramount+ and CBS for the first time, drastically increasing its accessibility. In theory, CBS is available to anyone who owns a TV; that’s approximately 125 million homes in the U.S., per THR. MTV, which has historically aired the broadcast, is only available to about half that number. The VMAs aren’t quite in the big leagues of award show viewership—the 2025 Grammys, for example, drew 15.4 million viewers on the same network—but this was still a good move for MTV.