VMAs, CBS By Bill Bradley --> The VMAs had a Swift rise in viewership on Sunday.
Taylor Swift, Madonna, and host Snoop Dogg helped the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on CBS hit a high note for viewers. Sunday’s show reached an 11-year high, scoring 8.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen fast national numbers.
That’s a 51% increase from last year’s 5.5 million viewers . The show, broadcast live from Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, also had highs for demo viewership, with all audience demos up 30% from the previous year. It was the most-watched VMAs in the A25-54 demo since 2019, with 3.55 million viewers.
The show had a major social footprint as well, with 31.1 million interactions and 159 million video views, with video views increasing 8% from last year.
The ratings came despite delays from an NFL matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens, which was being played in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Among the highlights from the night, Madonna opened the show with her first VMAs performance in 23 years, featuring Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX joining her on stage. In addition, Swift won Video of the Year and received the inaugural MTV VMA Artist Director Honors.
For instance, Paramount Media Labs created 116 bespoke branded content assets and integrated 8 minutes of branded content throughout the VMAs , including a Dunkin’ sketch with Rachel Dratch’s lost Spice Girl, Pumpkin Spice, which appeared at multiple moments.
In addition to returning advertisers, Paramount recently told ADWEEK that 20 were new to the VMAs this time around and four were new to CBS. The network also gave brands the opportunity to join the show until curtain time, with digital opportunities still on the table despite linear being sold out.
The big sponsors for the night included Bacardi Rum, Under Armour, The General, Spotify, and Credit Karma.
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Bill Bradley is Adweek's deputy TV, Media and Sports editor.
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