(7 July 2005 2:00 pm)

MUMBAI: In one of the highest rated music events in the networks' history, MTV and VH1 announced that their coverage of the Live 8 concerts, which took place in 10 cities around the world on 2 July, reached more than 18 million total viewers combined over the course of the eight hour broadcast. The two networks shared a feed for the first time in their history to cover the concerts, aimed to raise awareness of extreme poverty in Africa.

Live 8 on MTV and VH1 combined was the most watched show in its time period (12 - 8 pm) among total viewers across all cable networks. The telecast also ranked number one for six of the eight hours among total viewers across all of cable. Further, the broadcast maintained a consistent audience, with ratings primarily holding steady throughout the eight hours.

MTV's Live 8 coverage ranked number one in its time period (12 - 8 pm) among its core demo of 12 - 34 year olds vs. all cable networks, on average. The channel also ranked number one for total day, with one-third of the total day hours comprised Live 8 programming.

The week that Live 8 aired, 27 June - 3 July, was MTV's highest rated week ever (excluding weeks with MTV Video Music Awards or MTV Movie Awards premieres). The broadcast also delivered nearly 2.2 million viewers on average, per quarter hour, on both networks.

VH1 posted ratings that were +84 per cent above the prior
four week benchmark and +100 per cent for total viewers.