Variety: CBS Seals 5-Year Deal for American Music Awards, Expanding Partnership With Dick Clark Prods.

Story from Variety:

CBS is extending its partnership with Dick Clark Productions, sealing a new five-year deal to keep the American Music Awards on the Eye network and Paramount+ starting in 2026. The news comes following CBS’ broadcast this May of the 2025 American Music Awards, hosted by Jennifer Lopez.

The 2025 AMAs repped a revival of the awards show after it wasn’t held in 2023 or 2024. According to CBS, the return reached more than 10 million viewers across CBS, which premiered the event on Memorial Day (May 26), followed by rebroadcasts on MTV (May 27), CMT (May 28) and BET (May 29). Per the network, it was the largest AMA audience since 2019.

CBS first took on the AMAs via an event in October 2024, the “American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special.” The acquisition came as CBS began broadcasting DCP’s Golden Globes in 2024. When the Eye sealed a five-year deal in March 2024 with DCP to hold on to the Globes, it also struck up a deal for the AMAs.

The new, extended deal to broadcast the AMAs live on CBS and stream on Paramount+ kicks off with the next AMAs, which are set to take place in May 2026, once again from Las Vegas. This will be the 52nd edition of the show.

The 2025 kudocast, held at the Fountainebleau Las Vegas, featured Lopez as host of the AMAs for the first time in 10 years. Other performers included Janet Jackson (who accepted the Icon award), Alex Warren, Becky G and Manuel Turizo, Benson Boone, Blake Shelton, Gloria Estefan, Gwen Stefani, Lainey Wilson, Reneé Rapp and Rod Stewart, who was given the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Given its Memorial Day timing, the 2025 event also paid tribute to U.S. troops and veterans. Details are still to come on the 2026 edition.

The American Music Awards were created by Dick Clark in 1974 — and ironically, he launched the show for ABC as a replacement of sorts, after the Alphabet web lost the Grammys to CBS. By the 1980s, the AMAs had become a major event — and in some years even beat the Grammys in the ratings, as it focused on more commercially popular music in the era of Michael Jackson. ABC’s relationship with the AMAs ended in 2022 while CBS still has one more year of the Grammys before it moves to Disney/ABC in 2027; that means essentially the two awards shows ultimately swapped partners.

Dick Clark Prods. notes that the American Music Awards “is the world’s largest fan-voted award show,” as winners are determined by fan voting. honoring today’s most influential artists and their passionate fanbases. Nominees are determined by “fan engagement across streaming, album and song sales, radio airplay and tour grosses,” via information from PMC siblings Billboard and Luminate.

DCP is owned by Penske Media, which is also the owner of Variety.