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The MTV Video Music Awards return Tuesday night at the Prudential Center, and viewers can watch the ... [+]
With the writers and actors strikes lingering on, the entertainment industry is hungry for a big, fun event where everyone can put aside the rancor of the past few months. The MTV Video Music Awards are ready to deliver.
The 2023 VMAs take place Tuesday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, with Taylor Swift once again leading the nominations and popular artists like BTS Jungkook scoring their first nods. Nicki Minaj will host the show, which will include a Sean “Diddy” Combs performance for the first time in more than 10 years.
Those who want to watch the MTV VMAs this year have a number of choices, since the program is now broadcast across multiple platforms, including a streaming service.
They will air at 8 p.m. EST on Tuesday night.
Of course, the most obvious way to watch the 2023 VMAs is on the network that originated the awards program, MTV. It will also have the evening’s most comprehensive VMAs coverage. The show will take place at 8 p.m., but viewers can also tune in for the 2023 Video Music Awards Pre-Show, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m.
Viewers on the West Coast or who have plans earlier in the evening can catch a replay of the 2023 ceremony starting at 11 p.m., give or take a few minutes—awards shows often run over their scheduled stop time, and the VMAs are slated for three hours.
Paramount Media Networks, which owns MTV and other cable networks, also airs the VMAs live on other channels, including BET, CMT, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, POP, VH1 and TV Land.
In this era of cord-cutting, an increasing number of households don’t have cable, but there are still ways to watch the program originating on MTV thanks to corporate synergy and newer models of channel delivery.
Those who lack subscriptions to traditional cable but who subscribe to cable channels through online services like Sling TV or Hulu Live TV can watch the show on those platforms. And the program is also streamed live online.
Here’s where the beauty of corporate synergy comes in. Streaming service Paramount+ is owned by Paramount Global, the parent company of MTV’s owner.
Paramount+ will stream the VMAs for the second straight year. Those who don’t currently subscribe to the streamer can sign up for a one-week free trial and watch the awards ceremony. It costs $6 per month for a subscription. Of course, viewers enjoy great flexibility with streaming and can watch via mobile devices, on tablets, or by streaming through a connected device, like a Roku.
It’s not quite the same thing, but for viewers who don’t have cable or access to a streaming service airing the VMAs, MTV’s YouTube channel annually hosts a live pre-show starting at 6:15 p.m. EST.