On Friday, October 10, MTV announced that it will close five channels in the U.K., after nearly 40 years.
Why It Matters
MTV launched in 1981 and was the first 24-hour music broadcaster in the world. It has been a linchpin in popular culture, with iconic moments airing on the broadcaster, including the video for Michael Jackson’s Thriller in 1983, a 16-hour broadcast of the Live Aid concerts back in 1985, Madonna’s iconic performance of Like a Virgin in 1984, and, of course, the birth of the MTV Video Music Awards.
Music videos began in the 1960s and have been a cornerstone of the pop culture lexicon for decades. However, they have been declining in viewership and cultural impact for years now.
What To Know
MTV will shutter the following channels in the United Kingdom: MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, and MTV Live.
The network will keep its flagship channel, MTV HD.
This channel, though, is focused on airing reality TV shows rather than music videos. It’s home to beloved franchises like Teen Mom and Geordie Shore.
The main channel scrapped music videos back in 2011 and instead pushed those out to its sister channel.
The flagship property of MTV Entertainment Group is a sub-division of Paramount Media Networks, which is a division of Paramount Skydance.
Paramount Global merged with Skydance Media in July after an $8-billion agreement between the two companies was approved by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
What People Are Saying
Former MTV Video Jockey Simone Angel told BBC News: “We need to support these artists and we all need to dance again and listen to music. And I know we do that online in our own little bubbles, but MTV was the place where everything came together. So it really does break my heart.”
Former MTV Video Jockey Jasmine Dotiwala wrote in a post on X: “End of a trailblazing, once-upon-a-time, one-of-a-kind era. MTV, the world’s first 24-hour music broadcaster, is to stop showing rolling pop videos in the U.K. after almost 40 years when it closes five channels at the end of the year.”
Musician Casey Rain in a post on X: “MTV was culturally and spiritually dead when it stopped airing music videos. Corporate-led decline of what was once the coolest brand in existence. Sad.”
What’s Next
Now that MTV has pulled channels in the U.K., similar measures could be taken in other countries.
MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, and MTV Live are all set to stop broadcasting by the end of this year in the U.K., as per the BBC.
