Music’s reigning stream queen Rihanna was billed as one the main attractions at last night’s VMAs. It’s fitting, then, that the performance of the show mirrors the consumption patterns of her audience.
See what we mean below…
According to newly released data, the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards was a resounding success online.
The network touted a 70% increase (to 62.8 million total video views) compared to 2015. Facebook streaming, specifically, was up 938%.
On the traditional front, however, the VMA ratings were down.
Indeed, though (like last year) airing simultaneously on MTV and other Viacom properties such as VH1 and BET, the 2016 instalment only managed to draw 6.5 million combined viewers.
The figure represents a sharp dip from last year, which brought in just short of 10 million total viewers. {Source}
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For us, the juxtaposition between the old and new means of consumption is interesting. Clearly national and international interest was sky-high given the huge views achieved by performances uploaded online. Yet, there’s an obvious disconnect in regard to the amount of folk expected to watch the show on TV realtime.
On the surface, one could argue that the limited window to promote the night’s most-talked about performer Beyonce ended up counting against the broadcast. After all, she was literally confirmed less than a day before showtime.
Yet, perhaps this – just like the music charts – points to changing times. An era that favours online streams and on-demand delivery.
Who knows, maybe just maybe we’ll soon be watching the top award shows on Netflix in the years ahead.