MTV, the television channel that transformed global music culture when it debuted in 1981 with the iconic “Video Killed the Radio Star,” is preparing to close its remaining international music channels as the shift toward online streaming accelerates.
The channels — MTV Music, MTV Hits, and its popular 80s and 90s music programmes — will go off air in the UK and parts of Europe in the coming months, according to sources at Paramount Skydance, the network’s parent company.
Reports also indicate that France, Germany, Poland, Australia, and Brazil will lose access to the channels before the end of the year.
What many observers have called “the end of an era” comes more than four decades after MTV redefined the relationship between music and visual storytelling.
Its launch in 1981 marked the beginning of music television as a global phenomenon, driving pop culture trends, elevating artists, and creating a new standard for how audiences engaged with music.
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Through the 1980s and 1990s, MTV expanded rapidly, shaping youth culture with its music rotation, interviews, reality shows, and award ceremonies. It later branched into specialised channels, including MTV Hits, MTV Music, and nostalgia-driven platforms celebrating songs from specific decades.
But the dominance of YouTube, music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, and the explosion of short-form video platforms such as TikTok have drastically reduced the relevance of traditional music TV. As audiences migrated online, MTV’s dedicated music channels suffered sharp declines in viewership and advertising revenue.
Over the last decade, the brand leaned heavily into reality entertainment to stay afloat, while its core music channels continued to fade in global influence.
Paramount’s decision to discontinue MTV’s remaining music-focused international outlets is the network’s biggest retrenchment since it launched. It also signals a symbolic close to the chapter of linear music television, as global audiences increasingly embrace digital, on-demand content.
AFP
