The MTV Movie Awards proved to be a draw, even without several winners and nominees present.
Ratings for this year's awards show, which awarded superhero blockbuster The Avengers the evening's top honor, improved to 3.8 million viewers Sunday night, up from 3.2 million for the previous year's telecast.
The two-hour-plus show, hosted by Bridesmaids and Pitch Perfect's Rebel Wilson, averaged a 3.4 rating among MTV's core persons 12-to-34 demo, up 21 percent. The movie kudofest also saw double-digit upticks among adults 18-to-34 (45 percent) and adults 18-to-49 (44 percent).
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Including broadcasts from other Viacom networks, including VH1, MTV2 and Logo, the MTV Movie Awards averaged 4.8 million viewers.
The awards show was a solid draw for The Show With Vinny, which MTV sneak previewed ahead of its official debut at 10 p.m. May 2. The Show With Vinny averaged 1.9 million viewers and a 1.8 rating in MTV's core demo.
On Friday, Starz posted a strong weekend with the conclusion of one of its original series and the start of another.
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The series finale for Spartacus drew 1.43 million viewers to the 9 p.m. premiere broadcast, a 53 percent jump from the season ender for Spartacus: War of the Damned. All told, Spartacus drew nearly 2.7 million viewers over the weekend.
Lead-out Da Vinci's Demons retained 72 percent of Spartacus' audience with its 10 p.m. debut, averaging 1.04 million viewers. Including encores over the weekend, the premiere drew more than 2.14 million viewers.
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