What’s good? For MTV VMAs it’s messy moments like the Minaj-Cyrus face-off

Anyone who’s watched MTV’s Video Music Awards knows by now that provocation and spectacle are to the VMAs what gold statues and Hollywood glamour are to the Oscars, Emmys and Grammys.

Real or scripted, MTV stuck to this aesthetic Sunday during its 32nd annual VMA ceremony, this time in downtown L.A.’s Microsoft Theatre.

Rapper Nicki Minaj cursed out host Miley Cyrus, comedian Rebel Wilson stripped, heartthrob Justin Bieber sobbed and hip-hop’s Kanye West delivered a stream-of-consciousness acceptance speech that did everything from expose award show ratings ploys to announce his run for president.

FULL COVERAGE: 2015 MTV Video Music Awards

For a show that has staked its claim in creating moments that end in “LOL” or “OMG,” the telecast was a success among social media users. The VMAs generated an impressive 21.4 million tweets Sunday.

But as early numbers from Nielsen suggest, MTV doesn’t quite have the hold on the television audience it once did.

The two hour-plus extravaganza drew 9.8 million viewers, down by about 500,000 from last year despite airing on 10 networks owned by MTV’s parent company, Viacom Inc. The 2014 gala, anchored in the revamped Forum and featuring a career-defining performance from Beyoncé, drew 10.3 million viewers.

MTV and its fellow Viacom cable channels have been particularly hard hit by the rapid changes in viewer behavior that are turning the pay-TV business on its head.

Younger viewers, once among MTV’s most loyal watchers, are turning away from traditional TV in favor of online and on-demand options, including Netflix, Hulu and YouTube. In another sign of the times, MTV programming chief Susanne Daniels in July left the network for YouTube to lead efforts to make more original content. Viacom’s shares have fallen by 50% in the last 12 months amid concerns over falling cable ratings and declining advertising revenue.

MTV hasn’t really been a beacon for pop culture enthusiasts since YouTube stole its fire a decade ago, but the VMAs were traditionally that one time of year when all eyes were back on the cable network. That’s because in the endless sea of awards shows vying for attention, MTV has mastered the art of controversy and irreverence, setting itself apart from the pack. Who needs pundits handicapping the night’s big races when you can sell ads against Cyrus’ waggling tongue?

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In a grand attempt to appear raunchier than the last time we saw her twerking at the VMAs (a ratings boon), Cyrus on Sunday cursed like a drunken sailor, littered her speeches with as many references to her affinity for marijuana as possible and deliberately showed her bare breasts (twice).

“The fix they’ve gotten themselves into is [that] they need to top themselves,” said San Diego-based media consultant Mark Ramsey of MTV’s need to keep upping the ante on bad behavior. “Now they need to literally manufacture controversy just to keep up with expectations. It’s almost absurd, but the absurdity is exactly why people tune in. I wouldn’t be surprised if every single controversial thing you saw last night was pre-constructed and prearranged.”

But in case Cyrus naked wasn’t enough to cause a conversation around the water cooler Monday morning, a few days before the ceremony the pop star picked a fight with Minaj by insulting the rapper in a print interview (this pop artist beef is not to be confused with the heated Twitter exchanges between Minaj and Taylor Swift a few months before).

In one of the few unscripted moments of the show, Minaj called out Cyrus for her comments midacceptance speech. “Now, back to this … that had a lot to say about me in the press the other day,” she yelled. “Miley, what’s good?” Minaj had her mike cut out, though she could be seen inside the Microsoft Theater mouthing, “Don’t play with me....!”

West also went off-script when he received the Video Vanguard Award. He delivered a speech that was part motivational, part rant, part truth bomb but wholly West.

It was these messy moments, of course, that generated the more notable reactions on social media.

“If there’s anything TV is still good at, it’s creating a can’t-miss event,” said analyst Ramsey. “If you consider the fact that no one really cares who wins a Moonman, it’s really all about what we can get people to talk about tomorrow.”

Tweets around the VMAs on Sunday peaked during West’s surprise announcement that he plans to run for president in 2020. Facebook reported that overall, 16 million people took part in 39 million VMA-related interactions on the site on Sunday. Broken down by state, California ranked only No. 10, with the most interactions emanating from, surprisingly, New Mexico.

Justin Bieber was another major attention driver. After years of shedding his teen pop star image with train wreck behavior, he brought his comeback campaign to the Microsoft Theatre stage and delivered his first VMA performance in five years. After performing the dance single “What Do You Mean,” he broke down in tears after the set.

The man and his tears propelled a spike in those who listened to his music on Spotify, according to the music-streaming service. His streams were up 32% after the emotional live performance of “What Do You Mean?,” which had been averaging 4 million streams per day since its release Friday.

So was the evening’s bombast real or scripted? Or does it really matter?

West seemed to boil it down best in his never-ending acceptance speech: “I still don’t understand awards shows. I don’t understand how they get five people who worked their entire life … sold records, sold concert tickets to come stand on the carpet and for the first time in they life be judged on the chopping block and have the opportunity to be considered a loser! I don’t understand it.”

Kanye for President is about as unlikely a campaign as Deez Nuts — but it’s safe to guess whom next year’s host will be.

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