Getty The MTV Moon Person Award inside Radio City Music Hall for 2018 MTV Video Music Awards Press Junket on August 17, 2018 in New York City.
Usually, the MTV Video Music Awards air on Sunday nights, like many awards shows. However, this year, the 2018 VMAs air on a Monday, which is tomorrow night, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, August 20, 2018, according to the NY Daily News. In recent months, MTV made the same move with the MTV Movie & TV Awards, which also aired on a Monday, instead of a Sunday night. And, the upcoming Primetime Emmy Awards will air on a Monday as well. When it comes to the Emmys, Variety has reported that the time slot and date move is to avoid conflict with Sunday Night Football. Variety also reported that the Emmys had higher ratings when aired on a Monday, rather than a Sunday night. So, perhaps this is why other awards shows have moved days as well.
While this may be good for ratings, a publicist in the industry said it’s difficult for those working with clients at events like the Emmys because the awards will be on a normal work day. The unnamed publicist explained, “Mondays are rough because it’s a normal work day for everyone else. So while you’re trying to focus on your clients that you’re walking down the red carpet, you’re getting dozens of emails from your clients who are not at the Emmys but want you to make sure you’re still working on their accounts.”
This year’s MTV VMAs show will also change up the location, in addition to its normal schedule, as it will broadcast live from an east coast location. According to The Hollywood Reporter, this will actually be the seventeenth time that the VMAs takes place in New York, but it will be the first time airing from Radio City Music Hall in nearly a decade. At Radio City Music Hall is where the VMAs reportedly began in 1984. New York City media and entertainment commissioner Julie Menin released the following statement about the VMAs being held in New York:
We are so pleased that the MTV VMAs will be returning to their roots in New York City for this year’s celebration of music, and entertainment. Prestigious awards shows like the VMAs and the Grammys not only reconfirm New York City’s status as the music capital of the country, but they bring tremendous economic benefits to their host city, an estimated $50 million in the case of the VMAs. I thank MTV and Viacom for their partnership, and we look forward to rolling out the red carpet for one of the music industry’s most entertaining nights.
Another surprise to viewers this year is that the show will go on without a host this year, as reported by Entertainment Weekly. This wouldn’t be the first time that the MTV Video Music Awards was carried out without a host. Just a couple years ago, there was no host for the VMAs, and, in 2011, the show was carried by high-profile presenters and music artists. The same is expected for this year’s event. According to The Wrap, the years that the VMAs opted to air without a host were in 2004 and have been down a leader in 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2016.
VMAs executive producer Bruce Gillmer explained to Bustle that this year, the creators of the event would like for the music to really be the focus of the show and not so much a host.