2026 VMAs Had the Biggest Audience in Ten Years With a 51% Growth From 2025

One of the most important awards in the music industry, this year's Video Music Awards once again drew a large audience. The joint broadcast by CBS and MTV registered 8.43 million viewers on Sunday (27), according to preliminary data from Nielsen. The result represents a 51% increase compared to last year and makes the event the most watched edition since 2015.

Breaking down viewership by network, CBS's broadcast averaged 7.61 million viewers, a 52% increase over last year, while MTV registered 686,000 and the rerun on MTV itself, 142,000. The final average of 8.43 also considers the rerun.

The VMAs also saw growth among younger audiences: 2.66 million viewers were adults aged 18 to 49, a 32% increase year-over-year. However, this result may still change with the final Nielsen figures.

Madonna was the main highlight of the night, with seven trophies, including Artist of the Year, Best Collaboration (alongside Sabrina Carpenter), and Best Dance. Taylor Swift won Video of the Year for “The Fate of Ophelia,” Best Direction for “Opalite,” and received the inaugural MTV VMA Artist Director Honors. Lastly, BTS took home Song of the Year, Best K-Pop, and Best Group, while LISA won Best Pop for “Dream,” featuring Kentaro Sakaguchi. 

Check out the full winner list here.