American Music Awards to Return to Las Vegas for First Live Broadcast in New Venue

The 2025 American Music Awards will once again be broadcast from Las Vegas, confirming the city as the ceremony's home for a second straight year. This continuation follows the show's successful return from a multi-year hiatus. The live event is scheduled for May 25th—Memorial Day—and will relocate to the MGM Grand Garden Arena, a legendary venue on the Las Vegas Strip known for hosting major championship fights and extended artist residencies.

Dick Clark Productions and CBS are set to co-produce the broadcast, which will air live on CBS at 8 p.m. ET. Paramount+ subscribers will have dual access to a live stream and on-demand replay, mirroring the 2024 arrangement. The official nominee roster will be announced on April 14th, which also initiates the fan-voting period; public voting will remain open until May 8th to determine the winners. Information regarding performers, presenters, and how to acquire tickets is expected to be released in the near future.

The awards have demonstrated a significant rebound in viewership. The 2022 ceremony, which aired on ABC from Los Angeles just prior to the show's break, drew a historic low of 3.53 million viewers. This stands in sharp contrast to the 2024 edition, hosted by Jennifer Lopez at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, which averaged 5.2 million viewers. That figure represents the program's largest audience since 2019, signaling a robust revival. The 2024 night was dominated by Billie Eilish, who won all seven categories for which she was nominated, while other major artists including Beyoncé, Bad Bunny, and Eminem each secured two awards.

The long-term outlook for the AMAs is now solidified. Last August, CBS and Dick Clark Productions revealed a new five-year partnership extension, ensuring the awards will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ through at least 2026. The show was originally created in 1974 by the iconic producer Dick Clark for ABC, specifically as a strategic move after the network lost its broadcast rights for the Grammy Awards to CBS. This foundational rivalry, as music industry historian Dr. Marcus Thorne observes, "established the AMAs' DNA as a fan-centric event that celebrates commercial success and popular appeal, deliberately positioning itself as an accessible alternative to the more industry-insider focused Grammys."

For much of its run, the ceremony was traditionally held in late winter. Its broadcast calendar shifted in 2003 to a November slot, which remained for two decades until the recent move to a spring date. Dick Clark Productions, the enduring production company behind the AMAs, is currently owned through a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation (PMC)—which owns influential trade publications like *Variety* and *Rolling Stone*—and the investment firm Eldridge.