The recently concluded Music Television (MTV) Video Music Awards was a worthwhile avenue for pop artists who performed on the show. Pop artists like Justin Timberlake and Miley Cyrus saw a sharp increase in digital media sales and online social activity.
According to Hollywood and media business site TheWrap, Cyrus' raunchy performance with Robin Thicke garnered 306,100 tweets per minute, breaking entertainment event records with 4.5 million tweets for the show. Her new song "Wrecking Ball" enjoyed starting sales between 80,000 - 90,000 downloads in its first two days. Her album "Bangerz" rose to number 5 on iTunes. Thicke's "Blurred Lines" album sales increased by 30%, and his new single tripled in sales.
Jeff Lucas, head of sales for Viacom Media Networks' Music & Entertainment, Advertising Sales & Marketing Group, told Billboard Magazine that this year's show broke sponsorship revenue records. MTV is a New York-based basic cable and satellite television channel owned by Viacom through MTV Networks Music and Logo Group.
MTV credits additional sponsorship dollars via Amplify, a venture partnership with Twitter. Amplify allows companies to sponsor official tweets from MTV to reach followers. Ad revenue figures were not disclosed. According to Nielsen Soundscan research, the company saw a 66% gain from this year's show, drawing 10.1 million viewers.
Viacom showed a 14% increase in revenues for the third quarter earnings report at USD3.69 billion. Shares climbed from USD1.01 to 1.31, totalling USD643 million in earnings. Global advertising revenues rose at 5%.
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