The time and location for the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards have been set. The VMAs will broadcast live globally on Tuesday, September 12 at 8 pm ET. The awards show returns to New Jersey’s Prudential Center, marking the third time in three years that the Newark venue has hosted the event.
More than 150 countries will be able to watch live as MTV pays tribute to the best music videos of the past year. The network also boasted in its announcement on Tuesday that the event will include “unforgettable performances, epic tributes and impressive appearances by music’s biggest stars.”
“We are thrilled to be back at the Prudential Center in Newark for this year’s VMAs!” Bruce Gillmer, Paramount’s president of music, music talent, programming and events and director of music content for Paramount+, said. “Celebrating one of our biggest nights in music with the incredible fans of the Garden State has been our goal since last year’s successful event.”
“We are incredibly proud that the Prudential Center will once again serve as the venue for the 40th annual MTV Video Music Awards,” added Jake Reynolds, President of the Prudential Center. “We appreciate the ability to continue our longstanding association with MTV and look forward to an incredible evening.”
During a time when awards shows have been losing audiences en masse, the VMAs have done pretty well in the ratings. In 2021, the awards show earned a 0.9 rating among adults 18-49. Although that was a 17% decline from 2020 numbers, that drop was minimal compared to other awards shows that had lost roughly 50% of their audiences year-over-year. Then in 2022, the VMAs gained 3% in viewership, drawing 3.9 million linear viewers. During that show, Bad Bunny won Artist of the Year and Billie Eilish won Song of the Year for “Happier Than Ever.”
Since its first show in 1984, when Madonna performed “Like a Virgin” in a bustier and wedding dress combo, the VMAs have been a major part of popular and celebrity culture. For several decades, winning an astronaut statue was a great honor in the music industry. But over the years, the awards show’s prestigious reputation has waned. Lately, celebrity performances and sightings have become more important than who wins or loses.
This will be MTV’s second big awards show of 2023. The Paramount-owned channel had to battle for the Movie and TV Awards in May, an event that was heavily disrupted due to the WGA strike. It remains to be seen how the ongoing strike will affect the VMAs.
