iHeartRadio MMVAs
| iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awarded for | Best in music videos |
| Location | Much Headquarters, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Country | Canada |
| Presented by | Much |
| Formerly called |
|
| First award | June 25, 1990 |
| Final award | August 26, 2018 |
| Website | mmva.muchmusic.com |
The iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards were an awards show broadcast annually on Much from 1990 to 2018, and Fuse from 2010 to 2013 that honoured the year's best music videos.[1]
Originally debuting in 1990 as the Canadian Music Video Awards,[2] the awards were renamed in 1995 to the MuchMusic Video Awards.[3] In 2016, the show was rebranded under the iHeartRadio banner after Much's parent company, Bell Media, reached a licensing agreement with iHeartMedia.[4] The show's full name was officially dropped in 2018.[5] The 2018 edition would ultimately be the last, amidst the scaling back and eventual discontinuation of all music programming on the channel due to declining ratings.[6]
History
[edit]1990–1995: As the Canadian Music Video Awards
[edit]The first Canadian Music Video Awards took place in 1990 on a three-week trip aboard a Canadian National Railway train across Canada. It was sponsored by Diet Pepsi and the train was dubbed "The Pepsi Train".[7] Awards were handed out during its journey,[8] which included 10 Canadian cities.[9] In 1992 the CMVA's moved to the CityTV/MuchMusic studios in Toronto. In 1993 Michael Kennedy, director, and Kids In The Hall crowded into the Speaker's Corner booth outside the MuchMusic studios to accept the award for Best Comedy Video for "Terriers".
1996–2015: MMVAs
[edit]
In their modern form, the MMVAs were held as a large street party around 299 Queen Street West—the main downtown Toronto studios of Much and other properties owned by its parent company Bell Media. Much VJs introduced and interviewed presenters and winners throughout the show. Winners of a Much Music Video Award received a statue made by New York firm, Society Awards. Viewers could vote for the "Fan Fave" category which included Video, Artist or Group, and International Artist or Group.
In 2001, a show was not held due to the September 11 attacks occurring two weeks prior.[10] However, awards were still handed out.[9] All MMVA shows were subsequently held in June until 2017.
2016–2018: iHeartRadio MMVAs
[edit]In 2016, Bell Media signed an exclusive pact with iHeartMedia[11] and began co-branding the awards with iHeartRadio to "further elevate the MMVAs internationally."[4]
In 2018, the show moved to August[12] and its full name "MuchMusic Video Awards" was dropped.[5] According to CTV Toronto, Bell Media "hopes the shift will help establish a new back-to-school event."[13]
The iHeartRadio MMVAs were not held after 2018. Bell Media president Randy Lennox told The Canadian Press in 2019 that the awards were "delayed" due to "a massive concert in August and also the MTV awards were one day after our date, so we didn't think it was smart."[14]
List of Ceremonies
[edit]Appearances
[edit]Performances
[edit]| Year | Performers | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | [2] | |
| 1991 | [23] | |
| 1992 | ||
| 1993 | ||
| 1994 | ||
| 1995 | [24] | |
| 1996 |
|
[25] |
| 1997 | ||
| 1998 |