VMA ratings down 5 percent from last year

Cyrus scandalizes. — (Image credit: (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP))

Despite turning out a buzzy show filled with Miley Cyrus' skimpy costume changes and even a feud between Cyrus and Nicki Minaj, MTV's Video Music Awards experienced a 5 percent drop in viewership from last year. The awards show brought in 9.8 million viewers Sunday night — down from 2015's 10.3 million — despite its airing on an additional six networks. The VMAs still churned out a healthy amount of Twitter chatter, however. According to Nielsen, this year's show was the most tweeted non-Superbowl program since it began tracking social media.

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Samantha Rollins is TheWeek.com's news editor. She has previously worked for The New York Times and TIME and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.