The story

Snoop Dogg will host the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, which will air live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 27. The telecast will air simultaneously on CBS, MTV, and Paramount+. The rapper and entrepreneur is a 13-time VMAs nominee and has won three Moon Man awards. He made his debut on the VMAs stage in 1994, closed the 1999 show with Dr. Dre and Eminem, and returned for a tribute to the Notorious B.I.G. and again for a performance with Eminem in 2022.

Madonna leads all nominees with 11 nods, including for video of the year for "Confessions II -- The Film," artist of the year, and song of the year for "Bring Your Love." Taylor Swift has nine nominations, including artist of the year. Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter have seven nominations each, while Bruno Mars, PinkPantheress, and Zara Larsson have five. Nirvana will be honored with the Video Vanguard award.

Snoop Dogg said in a statement that MTV and the VMAs have been part of his story since the beginning. He noted that he is hosting the show with producer Van Toffler, who was at MTV during the early days when they were changing the culture in real time. The Hollywood Reporter reported that the VMAs will air from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. ET, or 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. PT.