The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards brought together star power, nostalgia, and viral moments under one roof—this time at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. Held on the evening of Sunday, September 7, the show featured standout performances from Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, and Yungblud; surprise appearances from stars like Ricky Martin; and major wins, including Ariana Grande taking home Video of the Year.

To analyze the media performance of the event, we examined Google’s mobile News Boxes in the US from 9:00 AM PT on September 7 until 11:00 PM PT on September 8. This time window captures the full span of VMA-related visibility, from pre-event buzz through post-show coverage, across a 15-minute crawling interval using the Trisolute News Dashboard.

In total, 19 thematically linked keywords generated 4,218 News Box rankings, providing insight into which terms dominated the news landscape—and more importantly, which publishers and platforms turned those trending topics into visibility.

This article breaks down:

1. The most visible keywords and what they reveal about public interest and coverage focus.

2. The top-performing news publishers and platforms across the entire keyword set.

For newsrooms and SEO teams, this analysis provides a clear view of what kinds of stories and formats resonated during a high-tempo, entertainment-heavy news cycle.

Let’s dive into the data!

Which keywords dominated the news boxes during the VMAs?

The list below contains all keywords that generated rankings in the mobile News Boxes in the US between September 7 at 9:00 AM and September 8 at 11:00 PM (Pacific Time) and can be thematically linked to the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards. The keywords are sorted in descending order by number of rankings. The values in parentheses indicate how many times each keyword appeared in visible positions in the News Boxes during the analyzed time frame, measured at 15-minute intervals.

Analysis of the keywords

The 19 keywords with a total of 4,218 rankings reveal that the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards managed to generate notable visibility in the US mobile News Boxes. Unsurprisingly, general terms like “vmas 2025” (870 rankings), “vmas” (564), “mtv vmas” (447), and “mtv vmas 2025” (189) dominated the keyword field. Together, these indicate that the event itself, including its overall broadcast and thematic presence, was a strong media driver across the analyzed timeframe.

The keyword set also reflects interest in a handful of highly visible artists and performers. “ricky martin” (474 rankings) was the most prominent celebrity name, outperforming even headliners like “lady gaga” (268) and “tate mcrae” (256). This suggests that unexpected moments or nostalgic appearances held particular resonance in the coverage.

Other names, such as “yungblud” (422), “mariah carey” (170), “sabrina carpenter” (126), and “busta rhymes” (108), likely gained traction through a mix of live performances, red-carpet appearances, or viral clips. The keywords “mtv vmas sabrina carpenter” (47) and “mtv vmas lady gaga” (24) suggest additional focused reporting on their presence at the event.

Lastly, terms like “winners mtv vmas 2025” (20) and “mtv vma winners” (18) point to limited but targeted visibility around post-show outcome coverage—likely influenced by the late broadcast and relatively short media window before the analysis period ended.

Altogether, the keyword landscape paints a picture of an award show that continues to blend entertainment and spectacle with a strong emphasis on celebrity presence, standout performances, and viral surprise moments rather than just award results alone.

While the keyword analysis paints a detailed picture of what caught public attention during the VMAs, it’s equally important to explore which publishers and platforms succeeded in turning that attention into visibility.

Top 10 news publishers and platforms covering the VMAs

The following chart from the Trisolute News Dashboard shows which publishers and platforms achieved the highest average visibility across the 19 VMAs-related keywords in Google’s mobile News Boxes in the US. Below the chart, we explore how each of the top 10 performers fared individually by looking at their visibility trends, standout articles, and keyword focus.

Top 10 publishers and platforms on the MTV VMAs 2025 in US mobile News Boxes

1. Yahoo led the field with an average visibility of 13.98%, peaking on September 8 at 8 AM with an impressive 25.3%. The publisher generated a total of 362 keyword rankings, performing especially well for “vmas 2025” (140 rankings), “vmas” (52), and “mtv vmas 2025” (35). Yahoo’s most visible article was a comprehensive recap titled “MTV VMAs 2025 full coverage: Ariana Grande wins Video of the Year following performances by Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey and others.”
2. People secured the second spot with 10.62% average visibility. Their performance peaked on September 7 at 3 PM, reaching a high of 26.59%. Across the time period, the outlet earned 461 keyword rankings, driven particularly by “ricky martin” (100), “vmas 2025” (91), and “yungblud” (82). Their most prominent article was: MTV VMAs 2025: See the Complete Winners List!
3. Reddit claimed third place with an average visibility of 7.60%, peaking on September 8 at 9 AM with 15.59%. The platform contributed 535 keyword rankings, with standout terms including “vmas 2025” (185), “vmas” (104), and “mtv vmas” (51). The most visible post was: Ariana Grande at the 2025 VMAs red carpet.
4. Instagram followed closely behind with 7.57% visibility. Its peak came on September 8 at 6 PM, reaching 13.27%, driven by visually rich and shareable content. Instagram amassed 500 keyword rankings, most prominently for “ricky martin” (151), “yungblud” (107), and “mariah carey” (77). The top-performing post was: Yungblud, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne at the 2025 VMAs 🥀 (by Billboard).
5. YouTube reached 6.44% average visibility, with a strong peak in the early hours of September 8 at 4 AM at 21.45%. With 293 keyword rankings, it performed best for “vmas” (71), “mtv vmas” (52), and “vmas 2025” (47). The platform’s most visible video was: Rosé & Bruno Mars Win Song of the Year | 2025 Video Music Awards (by MTV).
6. The New York Times achieved 5.43% visibility, peaking at 20.08% on September 8 at 4 AM. The outlet gathered 151 keyword rankings, with their strongest performance for “vmas” (33), “tate mcrae” (26), and “mariah carey” (23). Their top article focused on red carpet fashion: 10 Best Red Carpet Looks at the MTV VMAs: Doja Cat, Sabrina Carpenter & More.
7. USA Today had a visibility share of 4.25%, with a clear peak on September 7 at 1 PM, when it spiked to 38.32%—the highest single-point visibility among all publishers. Across the period, USA Today ranked for 129 keywords, led by “ricky martin” (28), “vmas 2025” (24), and “vmas” (20). Their key article was a live ticker titled: 2025 MTV VMAs are here! Get live updates from music’s iconic night.
8. E-Online secured 4.02% visibility, with a high point of 12.12% on September 8 at 2 PM. They collected 138 keyword rankings, primarily for “vmas 2025” (46), “lady gaga” (32), and “tate mcrae” (23). Their leading article was: VMAs 2025: Tate McRae, BLACKPINK’s Rosé and More Shine at After-Party.
9. NBC News posted 3.93% visibility, peaking during the night on September 8 at 1 AM with 10.42%. It produced 108 keyword rankings, driven by “lady gaga” (29), “vmas” (20), and “mtv vmas” (19). Their most visible article was: MTV VMAs 2025 highlights: Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga win big, Mariah Carey’s Video Vanguard award, Ozzy Osbourne tribute.
10. CNN rounded out the top 10 with 3.75% visibility and a notable peak of 37.57% on September 7 at 11 AM. Their coverage accounted for 90 keyword rankings, most notably “vmas 2025” (31), “mariah carey” (21), and “mtv vmas 2025” (16). Their highest-ranked piece was: The most talked-about red carpet looks at MTV’s Video Music Awards 2025.

What we learned about news visibility during the VMAs

Looking for more insights into media visibility around major events and news stories? We’ve got you covered:

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