2017 MTV VMAs Draw Lowest Ratings Ever
The 2017 MTV Video Awards saw its lowest ratings ever on Sunday (Aug. 27), when Katy Perry hosted the annual event at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
Airing across 10 different channels, including MTV, MTV2, VH1, Comedy Central, and other Viacom-owned sister networks, the show only drew 5.68 million viewers, down from 6.5 million the year before, according to Billboard.
This year’s low continues an ongoing trend for the Video Music Awards. According to TV Line, this marks the fourth straight year of a decline in ratings for the network’s annual extravaganza.
Ratings for the awards show started being counted in 1994 and it has always been a large draw for the network. In 2002, when the show aired exclusively on MTV, it garnered 11.9 million viewers.
Competition may have impacted its viewership. On Sunday, MTV went head-to-head with the season 7 finale of “Game of Thrones,” which saw its personal record, 12.07 million viewers, tuning in. The VMAs won a moral victory, defeating HBO’s “GOT” in the teen demographic.
The VMAs also apparently had a large social media impact, trending globally for 13 hours and defeating “GOT” as a top trending traffic, according to Billboard.
This year’s VMAs featured performances by Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Logic, Alessia Cara, Khalid, Fifth Harmony, Gucci Mane, and Kendrick Lamar. Kung Fu Kenny was also the night’s biggest star, taking home six Moon Persons.