NBC has lost a major awards show. The 2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards will air on Turner Broadcasting cable networks instead of the peacock network.
Turner announced today that it signed a multi-year deal with iHearMedia, Inc. to broadcast the iHeartRadio Music Awards on TBS, TNT and truTV. The show will air live on all three networks and Turner will promote the show heavily as it airs the NCAA Division I Men’s basketball championship games.
The Final Four games air on TBS Saturday, April 2, 2016 and the iHeartRadio Music Awards will air the next day, Sunday, April 3. On Monday, April 4, TBS will air the NCAA National Championship game.
“The iHeartRadio Music Awards has quickly established itself as a unique live event – an awards show for the digital age that brings together millions of music fans globally,” Kevin Reilly, the new TBS/TNT president, said in a statement. “This multi-platform celebration will complement a spring packed with big live event music, entertainment and sports programming across our networks. The iHeartRadio Music Awards programmed between Turner’s exclusive coverage of the Final Four and National Championship games will make for an incredible weekend for sports and music fans alike.”
The iHeartRadio Music Awards is a new show, begun in 2014 to satisfy some need for even more music awards shows. However, this one is different, since the awards are voted on by the fans. Both the 2014 and 2015 ceremonies aired on NBC.
In March, Taylor Swift was the big winner of the 2015 iHeartRadioMusic Awards, winning Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Lyrics. Justin Timberlake was presented with a special Innovator Award and Jamie Foxx hosted.
image of Taylor Swift courtesy of Famous/ACE/INFphoto.com