MTV Changes VMA Start Time to Avoid Clashing With Obama's Speech

Now there's a scheduling conflict: MTV has changed the start time of its annual Video Music Awards to an hour earlier than normal Thursday to avoid bumping up against President Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention, Entertainment Weekly reports.

The VMAs will run from 8-10 p.m. Eastern time. Obama is scheduled to speak after 10 p.m. at the DNC in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he will accept the Democratic nomination for a second term as president.

Drake and Rihanna are up for five awards each at this year's VMAs, hosted by comic Kevin Hart and featuring performances by Alicia Keys and One Direction. Last year's show outpaced offerings on the broadcast networks with 12.4 million viewers, many of them in young demographics prized nearly as much by politicians as by advertisers. It was MTV's largest audience ever.