In a move that will rock your nostalgic sense of order, the MTV Video Music Awards are going network. Yes, you read that right. The MTV VMAs will air live on CBS for the first time ever in 2025. Yup. The channel your parents would watch for NCIS and The Price is Right will now also be your plug for pop star shade, mind-blowing outfit choices, and whatever Doja Cat dreams up next.
The announcement, as first reported by Variety, marks a major shift for the iconic music award show, which until now has kept it cozy on MTV and its sibling channels like VH1, CMT, and BET. As of September 7, 2025, from 8 to 11 p.m. ET (or 5 to 8 p.m. PT), that all changes as the VMAs will be broadcast live across time zones from the UBS Arena in New York on CBS and MTV.
If you’re a Paramount+ subscriber, you’ll also be able to stream it live there. Meaning that even without cable, you’ve got options to catch every performance, acceptance speech, and potential stage-crasher in real time. If you’re not a Paramount+ subscriber, you can become one here.
I Want My…CBS?
Why is this happening? Well, it comes down to eyeballs and how many the Video Music Awards can get glued to the show. This follows a growing trend within Paramount Global and that’s to bring the music to the masses. The CMT Music Awards jumped to CBS in 2024, and while that show is now on pause, it proved there’s a hunger for music on major networks, not just cable holdouts.
The pause of the CMT Music Awards had some fans biting their nails, and things got even more dramatic when TMZ reported last month that the VMAs were on the verge of cancellation. Thankfully, that’s not the case. The show is alive, well, and headed to network TV. The VMAs have officially avoided the same fate as the fabled Radio Star.
Interestingly, CBS isn’t going the shotgun approach this year. While last year’s VMAs were simulcast on 13 different channels, this time it’s just CBS and MTV holding it down for the full show. That’s a tighter, cleaner strategy that may reflect a shift toward streamlining audiences and boosting primetime ratings on big tentpoles.
Still Bringing the Heat After All These Years
Last year’s VMAs pulled in an impressive 4.08 million viewers with its main airing and encore presentations, up 8% from 2023. It also became the “most social VMAs in show history,” racking up a wild 66.7 million interactions. Whatever the content created, it’s proof that the brand still moves the cultural needle, even if fewer people are watching it the old-fashioned way.
As of now, we’ve got no official word on who’s hosting, performing, or being honored. But we do know that MTV’s Bruce Gillmer and Jesse Ignjatovic of Den of Thieves are executive producing, along with a production dream team that includes Alicia Portugal, Jackie Barba, Wendy Plaut, and Lisa Lauricella.
So, mark 2025 down in the musical calendar. The VMAs are headed to broadcast and whether you’re streaming, cabling, or antenna-flipping, you’ll have no excuse to miss the chaos.
