This year's MTV Video Music Awards drew the highest rating ever for an entertainment program on cable television. An estimated 12 million people watched Thursday night's awards show (held at New York's Metropolitan Opera House), which represents a 37% increase over the number of people who watched last year's show (broadcast from California). Before Thursday the highest-rated entertainment show on cable was USA's airing of "Moby Dick" in 1997. "Coming to the Met had such a great buzz," said Van Toffler, MTV's general manager. "We've never been to such a wonderful, classy environment. The expectations were high that we might trash it."