CBS Announces Airdate for 2026 American Music Awards

March 11, 2026, 10:07pm

The American Music Awards are coming back.

CBS and Dick Clark Productions have announced that the 52^nd annual AMAs will air live coast-to-coast on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, at 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT on CBS and Paramount+.

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The event will take place live from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The 2026 AMAs promises to honor the most influential artists and songs of today, bringing unforgettable performances and special moments in a multi-genre, cross-generational celebration of music. Nominations will be announced on Tuesday, April 14 and will be based on key fan interactions as reflected on the Billboard charts, including streaming, album and song sales, radio airplay, and tour grosses.

(Photo by Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images)

2025’s AMAs, hosted by Jennifer Lopez, reached over 10 million unique viewers across CBS and Paramount+, again on Memorial Day with the premiere, while encores aired on MTV, CMT, and BET. The CBS broadcast marked the show’s biggest audience since 2019, with a 38% increase over its last live airing in 2022 on ABC. Last year’s AMAs marked the first one on CBS and first one in three years. The AMAs aired on ABC from 1974 to 2022, when the Disney-owned network’s rights to broadcast the ceremony expired. So the show went on hiatus until CBS struck a new deal.

In August, it was announced that the American Music Awards would be returning to CBS in 2026 under a new partnership deal. CBS struck a deal with Dick Clark Productions to broadcast the AMAs on CBS and Paramount+ starting with this year’s broadcast. The awards show joins the Tony Awards, Kennedy Center Honors, CMT Music Awards, and the Golden Globe Awards on the Eye network. The Grammys had its last broadcast on CBS in February, and will be moving to ABC in 2027 following a new 10-year deal between the Recording Academy and the Walt Disney Company.

The host, performers, and presenters for the 2026 AMAs will be announced at a later date. Nominations will be revealed on Tuesday, April 14. Don’t miss the 52^nd annual American Music Awards airing live coast-to-coast on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25 at 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on CBS and Paramount+.