How to Watch the 2025 MTV VMAs Without Cable

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The MTV VMAs are back with a star-studded lineup of presenters, performers and honorees. The ceremony will air live from New York’s USB Arena on MTV on Sunday (Sept. 7).

Lady Gaga leads this year’s nominees race with 12 nods, followed by Bruno Mars with 11 nominations. Kendrick Lamar with 10, Sabrina Carpenter with nine, ROSÉ with eight, while Ariana Grande and the Weeknd tie with seven each. Billie Eilish and Tate McRae are tied with six nominations each, Charli xcx has five and Alex Warren, Bad Bunny, Doechii, Ed Sheeran, Jelly Roll, Miley Cyrus and Morgan Wallen have four each.Mariah Carey will also perform in honor of her receiving this year’s Video Vanguard Award.

See below for everything you need to know about the 2025 VMAs, including broadcast information, how to watch online, performers and more.

When Are the 2025 MTV VMAs?

The MTV VMAs returns to UBS Arena on Sunday, Sept. 7, airing at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.

How to Watch the 2025 MTV VMAs Online

If you don’t have access to MTV through cable, there are plenty of options to watch the VMAs through streaming services. Music lovers can stream the MTV VMAs on DirecTV, Paramount+, fuboTV, Sling TV, and Hulu + Live TV. The streaming platforms offer free trials and discounted pricing, and instant access to MTV, so you can watch the 2025 VMAs live or on-demand from your TV or stream the VMAs from your laptop, tablet or phone.

DirecTV

A subscription to DirecTV — which comes with CBS, ESPN, Fox, NBC, ABC and NFL Network — gets you access to live TV, local and cable channels, starting at $49.99 for the first month $84.99 per month afterwards. The service even offers a five-day free trial to watch for free, if you sign up now.

You can watch local networks such as PBS, while you can watch many cable networks, including Lifetime, FX, AMC, A&E, Bravo, BET, MTV, Paramount Network, Cartoon Network, VH1, Fuse, CNN, Food Network, CNBC and many others.

Paramount+

You can also watch the VMAs with Paramount+. The streamer has a 7-day free trial available, so you can watch the award show online for free with a subscription. The streamer has two tiers for streaming plans to choose from. The first is the Paramount+ Essential plan, which is ad-supported and goes for $7.99 per month. It grants you access to everything the streamer has to offer, including and catalog titles — from hubs such as CBS, CBS Sports, CBS News, BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and The Smithsonian Channel — but with limited commercial breaks throughout movies, TV shows and live TV.

The other is Paramount+ with Showtime, which is ad-free and goes for $12.99 per month. This plan has all of Paramount+ originals and network hubs, as well as programming from Showtime with hits including Yellowjackets, Billions, The Curse, The Chi and Your Honor without any ad breaks.

Sling TV

With prices starting at just $4.99 for a day pass, Sling TV includes MTV with it Sling Orange and Sling Orange + Blue packages — which features dozens of channels that can be streamed on up to three devices at the same time.

Please note: Sling TV’s pricing and channel availability depends on your local TV market.

Fubo

Fubo is another great option you can take advantage of to watch the VMAs live online. The streamer offers a seven-day free trial that’ll give you access to MTV and more than 240 live TV channels. The service offers a promo that’ll get you up to $30 off the first month, which can get you access to MTV and more for as low as $54.99 (reg. $84.99 per month).

Hulu + Live TV

For the most content options, Hulu + Live TV gives you access to the entire Hulu library in addition to more than 95 live TV channels — including MTV for just $82.99 per month.

And, unlike the rest of the options, you can also expand your content library by bundling Hulu + Live TV with Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited. You’ll not only have all of the Hulu library to watch, but also exclusive and original programming available exclusively on ESPN Unlimited.

Who Is Performing at the 2025 MTV VMAs?

Sabrina Carpenter will take the stage again after performing at last year’s event. Lady Gaga, Doja Cat, Post Malone, Tate McRae, Conan Gray, Jelly Roll, Busta Rhymes, J Balvin with DJ Snake, Alex Warren and Sombr will also grace the VMA stage.

Mariah Carey will also perform in honor of her receiving this year’s Video Vanguard Award. Ricky Martin will perform and receive the first-ever Latin Icon Award.

Who Is Presenting at the 2025 VMAs?

Ashlee Simpson Ross, Brittany Snow, Ciara, Drew Barrymore, KPop Demon Hunter’s EJAE, REI AMI + Audrey Nuna (Huntr/x), Ice Spice, Jessica Simpson, Latto, Livvy Dunne, Malin Akerman, Megan Stalter, Nikki Glaser and Paris Hilton are all slated to present at the 2025 VMAs.