MTV was much more than a television channel. It was a cultural revolution. In the 80s and 90s, it forever changed the way the world saw, heard, and felt music. You’d turn on the TV and there they were: Michael Jackson, Madonna, Nirvana, and Guns N’ Roses, with music videos that not only sounded great, but defined generations. 🎼 🎸
That’s why it hurts to know that on December 31, 2025, some of the channels of the well-known music channel MTV will be switched off after 44 years of uninterrupted broadcasting. Although many will say, “the industry changed,” the truth is more uncomfortable. MTV changed first, since at the beginning of the 21st century, the channel decided to turn its back on music videos and bet on reality shows, quick fixes, and content that nobody asked for. At that moment, MTV stopped speaking the language of the artists and started speaking the language of the observer. The audience didn’t leave overnight, MTV died slowly, disconnecting from its essence while YouTube, Spotify, and social media took the place that the channel abandoned. It wasn’t streaming that killed MTV. MTV facilitated the end of some of its own channels.
Legendary formats like MTV Unplugged proved that there was a future for music on television even in the 21st century, but they didn’t persevere. They preferred the easy way out over authenticity. More than a death, MTV’s demise was a suicide foretold.🎤🎥️
But MTV isn’t disappearing completely. The main channel will continue to exist, but no longer as a musical temple, but as a platform for reality shows, dating shows, and digital content. Meanwhile, iconic channels like MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, and MTV Live will cease broadcasting in many countries. The reason is clear: low viewership on linear TV, changes in music consumption, and a restructuring following the merger of Paramount Global with Skydance, which prioritizes streaming and platforms like Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
Today, MTV lives more in memories and in collective nostalgia than in daily programming. It was gigantic, it was influential, it was history. But when it stopped putting music at the center, it ceased to be relevant.
The saying used to be, “Video killed the radio star.” Today, the phrase is updated, “Streaming is killing traditional TV.” And what’s next? Perhaps apps will dominate the distribution of music, concerts, events, and culture for decades to come.
The industry keeps changing. MTV is changing too… but it’s too late. And for a generation that grew up watching that screen, that hurts a little. 🎶📺
