During its heyday before being cancelled in 2008, there was one place to be for live audiences and fans watching at home alike — MTV's "Total Request Live."
Now that the popular music video countdown show has been brought back on the air in a one-hour timeslot with guests such as Ed Sheeran, Demi Lovato, Noah Cyrus, and Lil Uzi Vert, the verdict is in on how well the "TRL" reboot has been going, and the numbers are positive with the key teenage demographic.
The ratings among the P12-17 rating group were up 89 percent during the first week of "TRL," which featured Sheeran and a ticket giveaway during the first episode. In total, MTV saw a 93 percent bump among the P12-17 demographic compared to the network's previous four weeks.
In addition, "TRL" has social staying power, as it consistently ranks among the top 10 most social shows every day, sometimes beating out mainstays such as "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," according to Nielson.
"From our perspective, our goal was to bring younger voices back, more music and drive video and social views," MTV President Chris McCarthy told Billboard. "The prime numbers in growth we had was tremendous in our sort of phase one of our reinvention. Having this live sort of heartbeat and cultural conversation and artistry every day has almost amplified that success to a whole new level. So, we're incredibly optimistic about TRL and MTV and our plans for the future."
