Cord cutters can actually watch the VMAs live this year

The VMAs are finally coming to CBS and Paramount+.

By Emma Keates  |  April 3, 2025 | 4:33pm
Screenshot: Chappell Roan/YouTube
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Cord cutters can actually watch the VMAs live this year
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Chappell Roan’s Joan of Arc-inspired “Good Luck, Babe!” performance is currently sitting at 10 million views on YouTube, but it was inordinately hard to actually watch her set the stage on fire live. That’s because, historically, the VMAs have refused to dial into the modern era and find themselves a streaming partner—until this year. For the first time, the star-studded ceremony will air on CBS, with simultaneous streams on both MTV and Paramount+, per The Hollywood Reporter. 

Previously, cord cutters trying to tune into the ceremony’s dedicated Taylor Swift camera were S.O.L. The VMAs only aired live on cable channels, without even a feed on MTV.com. The event wasn’t available on demand until the next day.

Presumably this move will help the broadcast capitalize on last year’s upward momentum. The 2024 ceremony—which saw big wins for Taylor Swift (Artist Of The Year, Best Music Video, and more), Sabrina Carpenter (Song Of The Year), and Chappell Roan (Best New Artist)—hit a four-year viewership high with 4.09 million viewers across Paramount’s cable channels. It was the first time the show topped 4 million viewers since 2020, a number that’s sure to rise once more people can, you know, actually watch the thing.

This year, the VMAs are set to hand out their Moon People on September 7 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

 
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