iHeartRadio Music Awards Set For Turner Redux

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iHeart Radio

Fans of Top 40’s biggest stars of 2016 are set to enjoy a fab telecast from the fabulous Forum in suburban Los Angeles on Sunday, March 5.

That’s when the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards will air live from Inglewood, Calif. on three Turner networks: TBS, TNT and truTV.

The salute to contemporary music’s hottest acts starts at 8pm ET/5pm PT and will feature audio simulcasts on iHeartMedia stations across the U.S. In markets where the company does not have radio stations, it is encouraging fans to use the iHeartRadio App.

Launched in 2014, the iHeartRadio awards show is one of several now competing for viewers on both English-language and Spanish-language television.

The 2016 show was held in April, also at the Forum. The 2014 and 2015 awards shows were staged at the Shrine Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles.

According to iHeart, the 2016 awards show generated 115 billion social media impressions throughout its promotional period. Citing Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings, the iHeartRadio Music Awards was the No. 1 trending show of the week.

That’s not to say it was a total Nielsen ratings success.

The April 3 trimulcast saw an average 970,000 viewers during its three-hour telecast, generating a 0.4 rating on TNT. At TBS, the show saw an average 901,000 viewers, earning a 0.4 for that network.

Ratings data for the TruTV telecast of this year’s awards show was not available, as it did not place among the Top 100 cable programs of the night.

However, industry insiders estimate the total ratings came in at an average 2.5 million viewers, with a 1.0 share among all viewers aged 18-49.

By comparison, NBC’s 2015 telecast of the iHeart awards show attracted an average 5.2 million viewers earning a 1.9 share among all viewers aged 18-49.

Even with encore same-night telecasts on TBS, TNT and truTV, the 2016 iHeart Radio Music Awards ratings were 2.2 million viewers shy of what the Peacock attracted a year earlier.

Nevertheless, iHeart is excited about producing and presenting to music fans a unique event that stands out from the Grammys, American Music Awards, Premio lo Nuestro and other music-filled award shows.

“This is the one awards show that honors not only the biggest music artists of the year, but also the millions of fans that got them to the top,” said John Sykes, President of iHeartMedia Entertainment Enterprises. “This is a night where viewers can watch their favorite artists and truly connect, live across three Turner channels.”

Michael Bloom, SVP of Unscripted Series and Specials for TNT and TBS, was equally excited about the iHeartRadio Music Awards’ return to his networks. “The awards have really upped the ante when it comes to fan engagement, making it especially valuable among Turner’s slate of live event programming,” he said. “We look forward to working with iHeartMedia in making the whole initiative even more engaging and unforgettable this year.”

More information about the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards, including the award categories, will be announced at a later date.

The 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards will be produced by iHeartMedia and Den of Thieves.  Executive Producers for iHeartMedia will be John Sykes, Tom Poleman and Lee Rolontz.