The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards will take place on Sunday 27 September at 7.30pm ET at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, with Snoop Dogg hosting for the first time. The ceremony returns to the city for the first time since 2017, and Madonna will open with her first VMAs performance since 2003. Kacey Musgraves will perform a tribute to Dolly Parton, while RAYE will make her VMAs performance debut alongside Sombr and Teddy Swims in a tribute to the late George Michael.

The show will air on CBS and MTV, which viewers without cable can access through free trials offered by DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV and Fubo. Paramount+ Premium will carry the show live, while Essential subscribers can watch the following day; Sling also offers MTV but requires an Entertainment Extra add-on and has no free trial. Madonna leads the nominations with 11, followed by Taylor Swift with nine and Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter with seven each, while Best Dance returns after a seven-year absence. Nirvana will receive the Video Vanguard Award, and Swift will receive the inaugural Artist Director Honors.