MTV’s VMAs look to next generation with WhatsApp voting, TikToker cameos

MTV‘s Video Music Awards (VMAs) will return on September 11, and the 2024 iteration of the show will engage with digital audiences in new ways. For the first time, viewers will be able to vote for their favorite artists through the messaging service WhatsApp. In addition, MTV is partnering with TikTok creators for sponsored content and red carpet coverage.

On the day of the show, WhatsApp voting will be open in the Best New Artist category, which features breakout stars like Chappell Roan and Benson Boone. In a press release, MTV said that this partnership is the first time a messaging app has been used as a voting booth at a major awards show. Votes submitted through the VMAs website will also be accepted.

For MTV, the VMAs often provide an opportunity to experiment with rising social media platforms. Digital viewership of the show’s highlights increased in the 2010s and continued to grow as MTV brought formats like IGTV and Vevo into the proceedings. Per MTV, the 2023 VMAs got more views than the previous two iterations while recording 46 million engagements on social media.

The decision to bring WhatsApp into the VMAs fold recognizes the growing popularity of the Meta-owned platform. WhatsApp’s encrypted messages have helped it become the most-used messaging app in the world, and it is now making inroads among Gen Z consumers in the U.S.

VMA Viewers who prefer TikTok to WhatsApp will be able to enjoy digital red carpet coverage from Jake Shane and an on-location appearance from the duo known as A Twink and a Redhead. Other creators who will upload skits, songs, and breakdowns related to the VMAs will include Samantha Mowery, Andrew Licout, Mr. Grande, and Wakanda on the Weekends.

As MTV moves more VMAs resources to WhatsApp and TikTok, it is shifting away from its previous strategy, in which it drove viewership through its owned-and-operated channels. The results of that approach will become clear once the winners are revealed and the social data from the VMAs comes out.