MTV is shutting down several of its music channels in the UK after 40 years.
MTV first launched as a cable television channel back in 1981, starting things off with the music video for “Video Killed the Radio Star.” Over the years, MTV evolved from a pure music channel to a powerhouse that offers mixed music with hit TV shows like Jersey Shore, Jackass, and RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Which channels are going away
As per the report by Syracuse, five of MTV’s music-focused channels will no longer be available in the UK. The channels shutting down are:
- MTV Music
- MTV Back in the Day
- MTV in the 1990s
- Club MTV
- MTV Live
Is this only happening in the UK
At this point, it is not clear if the shutdown in the UK will spread to other countries, like the US. However, these MTV music channels have been taken away before. These services have already been turned off in Austria, Poland, and France, among other places.
Why Now
Paramount, the company that owns MTV, recently joined with Skydance Media, which David Ellison runs. As Paramount Skydance tries to compete with big streaming services like Netflix and the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, it is making a lot of changes.
With new leadership comes new choices, and MTV is feeling the effects of these changes right away. MTV ended long-running shows like Catfish: The TV Show after nine seasons and Ridiculousness after an amazing 46 seasons just last year.
The Bigger Picture
The fact that MTV shut down its channels shows how people listen to music has changed a lot in recent years. Things had changed a lot in the music business long before Paramount merged. These days, most people watch music videos and other material on streaming services like YouTube, Spotify, and others. These services offer both short and long clips.
Cable TV is also going down, as fewer and fewer homes sign up for it every year. This makes things hard for classic networks like MTV. Many people used to watch MTV to find new music videos, but those days are long gone.
What Will MTV Do Next
More changes could be coming to MTV soon since Paramount Skydance is still reorganizing. Because these music channels have been on for 40 years, shutting them down is a big change for the whole music TV business, not just MTV.
As the new year starts, we will know if any other MTV music stations will shut down in different countries. But one thing is for sure: MTV is starting a new era that will be shaped by streaming, changing viewing habits, and reorganizing the company.
The network that once shaped how a generation related to music is now changing to stay alive in a world where video has killed the radio star and taken over the internet.
