The American Music Awards are one of the most highly-anticipated music award shows of the year, but that might not be the case in 2023. The AMAs are facing a possible one-year hiatus after it was announced that the Billboard Music Awards would take their date.
Variety broke the news of the AMAs’ possible sabbatical after the BMAs moved to their date on November 19, 2023. This November date has been traditionally reserved for the AMAs for about two decades now, but they’re now facing the possibility of moving to the May slot previously held by Billboard.
The AMAs’ parent company Dick Clark Productions just happens to be owned by Penske Media Corp—Billboard’s parent company—leading to a conflict of interest caused by the change of dates. It also didn’t help AMAs’ case that viewership has been steadily declining in recent years, and the word on the street is that the show was becoming stale, leading PMC to focus on BMAs instead.
Despite scheduling conflicts, a PMC spokeswoman claims that the hiatus is not official just yet, saying they have offers for both shows from networks and streamers.
The American Music Awards have been around since 1973, and the latest ceremony took place in November last year, when Taylor Swift won six awards to extend her record as the most-awarded artist in AMA history, with 40 wins overall.
