MTV Awards Suffer Big Hit in Ratings (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

Broadcasting & Cable ^ | 9/1/2006 | Anne Becker

[Milhous]

The downward spiral of the MTV Video Music Awards' TV performance continued Thursday night as the ceremony's audience plunged from last year and VMA fans headed online.

The show, once a ratings juggernaut for MTV, pulled in an average of just 5.77 million total viewers over its three hour telecast starting at 8 p.m., down 28% from the 8 million viewers it averaged last year, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research. Just two years ago, the show brought in nearly double last night's audience-10.3 million viewers.

While still about five times what MTV has averaged in primetime this summer, the show's TV audience last night is a shadow of the 12 million viewers it once earned. The numbers have to be frustrating for MTV executives who moved the show back to its former home, New York City, after last year's poor showing in Miami.

With digital media, including video-heavy Internet sites, competing for its core young audience, MTV has struggled to maintain its status as the coolest place for youth. Last night's show was widely criticized for being dull and lacking the sort of buzz-worthy moments of VMAs past.

The show averaged a 5.21 share with MTV's target audience of viewers 12-34, the network says. Illustrating that that audience is preferring to spend time online these days, MTV's broadband video site Overdrive saw its highest day of traffic ever yesterday with 3.9 million streams, up more than 200% over last year. MTV programmed the site, as well as its digital cable channels and other multimedia platforms, with more VMA extras than ever this year.

[Tribune7]

I'm old enough to remember when MTV showed videos. That's old!

Springsteen, Madonna

Way Before Nirvana

There was U2 and Blondie etc.

[Doctor Raoul]

Like....like....kewl

[ßuddaßudd]

And we thought VH1 was for old people.

[layman]

Their mistake was letting Algore on the show. Next year they should get someone more cool and interesting who can really relate to young people .... someone like John Kerry.

[SauronOfMordor]

I'm old enough to remember when MTV showed videos. That's old!

These days, if I want to see a music video, I just go to youtube.com

[antisocial]

"Anyone who is old enough to remember when MTV actually played videos 24/7 could have predicted this once they started delving into "reality TV" garbage. Their sister channels MTV2 and VH1 are both headed down that same path into obscurity and into the ash heap of history.
MTV these days is just another channel on the dial."

What is this MTV, I've never even heard of it?

[SkyPilot]

MTV used to be, well, fun.

In college, we sat around the dorm day rooms, or in the frat and sorority houses, and watched videos. The videos were most rock and roll, and we enjoyed them. Some videos were what Bono once called "British Fashion Bands" - but they were "fun."

I saw the MTV awards show a few years ago, and thing looked and sounded like a bad porno movie.

[sinclair]

MTV should be renamed to more accurately describe its content: THUGTV.

[BigSkyFreeper]

Of the 5 VJ's all but J.J. Jackson are still around enjoying the music of the early days of MTV. Those 5 have shows on Sirius 80's on Sirius satellite.

[reagan_fanatic]

I feel like such a dinosaur. I'm old enough to remember when MTV showed videos. That's old!

MTV in the 80's was awesome. I used to watch it every single night - I even had my headphone out jack connected to my home stereo for the full effect.

Sadly, MTV is a mere shell of what it used to be, thanks mainly to cRap music.

[BigSkyFreeper]

Whoops!

Those 5 4 have shows on Sirius 80's on Sirius satellite.

J.J. Jackson, may he rest in peace!

[stands2reason]

Nah, you're not that weird.

When you alternate Rachmaninov piano etudes with Megadeth, bluegrass, and Mahalia Jackson, then you get to be weird. :-)

[stands2reason]

TOOL, Floyd and Rush?

Will you marry me? ;-)

[stands2reason]

I watch CMT too.

Hee-haw reruns and Country Fried Videos....

And occasionally some good bluegrass on Opry...

I don't even know what channel MTV is.

[stands2reason]

Sounds you got a poem started...

[Tribune7]

I can't take credit :-)

[edwin hubble]

"BIG PICTURE time: Let's set aside all the usual politocentric interpretations of all events typically found on this site, and consider the awesome fact that the basic musical paradigm of Western musical development has shifted with metronomic regularity every 500 years, for as long as we have records (not recordings, obviously).

We are now at the end of the line, creatively, awaiting the cultural crisis that will produce the foundations for the music of the next millennium."

Fascinating. I have some questions and thoughts about this.

So, (assuming a 500 year cycle) the western music we hear had its structural beginnings in the 16th century in Europe?

And the earlier 500 yr period would have been dominated by ecclesiastical music (Gregorian Chant)?

But, don't the ancient ballads of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland go back more than 500 years?

Was not the music of Greece and Rome structured in what we would call a minor key? (an earlier cultural cycle?)

[stands2reason]

Dang, those lyrics bring me back...

[GOPJ]

The kids have moved on - MTV is old hat...

[Milhous]

Is there a ping list for these? They are always enjoyable posts. Thanks!

abb would probably be more than happy to add you to his Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™ list.