TV Ratings: 2020 VMAs Draw 6.4 Million Total Viewers, Score Big on Social

The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards performed pretty strongly in the ratings department, given the unprecedented COVID-19 circumstances.

This year’s ceremony, hosted by “Hustlers” star Keke Palmer, was down only 5% on last year in terms of total linear viewership. A total of 6.4 million viewers tuned in across MTV and the 12 other ViacomCBS brands on which it was simulcast, as opposed to 6.8 million last time around (that includes the pre-show, main show, post-show, and encores).

Those 12 other brands included the CW for the first time this year, where it scored 871,000 total viewers and a 0.2 rating among adults 18-49.

However, in the social department is where the show sang its heart out. This year’s MTV VMAs delivered a whopping 41.1 million impressions on social media, making it the second most-socialed show of the year, behind only the Super Bowl (and only 7% behind at that.

Rather than packing  Barclays Center as the show usually does every year, the 2020 VMAs took place across multiple locations around New York City, with no audience members inn each. In terms of total minutes consumed, the 2020 VMAs were up 8% year-to-year.

Arguably this star of the show this year was Lady Gaga, who sported a spectacular array of outfits and and even more striking masks. Gaga won a whopping five awards all told, including the first ever Tricon award, which honors stars who are true triple-threats.

The ceremony also featured performances from BTS, The Black Eyed Peas, DaBaby, The Weeknd, Doja Cat, Maluma with CNCO and Ariana Grande.

Aside from Lady Gaga, some of the other winners included the aforementioned K Pop group, Taylor Swift, Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion and Blackpink. This show’s unusual circumstances also inspired two new, quarantine-specific categories: best music video from home, which went to Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber for “Stuck With U,” and best quarantine performance, which was given to CNCO.