MTV Awards Show Hits Ratings Gold, Tops Network Rivals

MTV’s “Video Music Awards” set a ratings record for the cable network Thursday, averaging an estimated 11.9 million viewers--the largest audience in the annual showcase’s 19-year history.

Tune-in for the awards was good enough to easily surpass all the broadcast networks (who almost uniformly aired reruns) for the night, even though MTV is available in fewer homes.

The awards have clearly become an event, with the number of households watching roughly nine times what MTV has attracted on an average night this summer. The rating also represented a 5% increase over last year.

According to breakdowns from Nielsen Media Research, nearly two-thirds of those viewing the awards fell into the 12-to-34 age bracket, which represents MTV’s core audience.

Jimmy Fallon of “Saturday Night Live” was the awards show’s host.