Boom! All that Kanye-Taylor tension paid off: Last night’s MTV Video Music Awards attracted 11.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched show on the cable channel since 2002 (and the third-watched telecast on MTV … ever). Overall, this year’s controversy-free event was up 27 percent from 2009’s show, while among MTV’s core audience of Bieber-centric adults ages 12 to 34, the 2010 VMAs tied for MTV’s most-watched telecast of all time. The most disturbing stat from MTV this afternoon, at least for fans of scripted cable gems such as Mad Men or even Burn Notice: While the VMAs are the highest-rated event on cable this year, the No. 2 telecast this year (so far) is an episode of Jersey Shore. Let’s have a toast for the douchebags!
