President Obama killed the VMA’s.
Thursday night’s Video Music Awards averaged 6.1 million viewers – less than half last year’s crowd of 12.4 million.
What was supposed to be MTV’s biggest annual ratings-grabber, promising performances by Kennedy-in-training Taylor Swift, soon-to-be-”Idol” judge Nicki Minaj and girl-squeal-inducing One Direction — not to mention Rihanna performing her “Cockiness” remix single — was instead the lousiest VMA showing since 2006.
That’s also the last time the trophy show started at 8 p.m., though that year it ran until nearly 11:30 p.m.
MTV announced in May that it would move the show from its 9 p.m. start of the past five years, and start it at 8, so as to be wrapped by the time Obama gave his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
After 06’s crummy showing — 5.8 million viewers — Viacom-owned MTV de-bloated the orgy of excess and got it down to a two-hour-ish program.
At any rate, Thursday’s number is a stunning ratings plunge for the show, coming as it does one year after the franchise logged its biggest crowd ever – and MTV’s biggest audience ever for any program– at 12.4 million.
One year earlier, the VMA’s averaged 11.4 million and the year before that 9 million.
Let’s put this year’s VMA number in perspective, shall we?
The VMA’s attracted a smaller crowd that watched Obama at the DNC — on NBC alone.
On the other hand, the VMA’s snagged more than twice as many viewers as watched Obama’s address on Fox News Channel.
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