On August 1st, 1981, MTV, Music Television, launched on cable TV stations across the country and, at the same time, revolutionized the music industry. The channel offered 24-hour music videos and introduced the viewing audience to new and previously unheard artists, especially during the 80s and 90s, and brought it into your home in full stereo sound. The channel launched with the now iconic opening video by the band The Buggles for “Video Killed The Radio Star”.
Wildly popular, the channel offered many viewers the first glimpse of what many of the bands and their members actually looked like, by providing a visual rather than just the song on the radio. Practically every teen in the 80s tuned in to the channel and watched as the world premiere video launched, and, of course, there was MTV News and the famous VJs that viewers felt like they actually knew.
So what happened for it all to come to an end?
Well, ironically, in a strange way, MTV suffered the same fate that it brought upon radio. When MTV hit the airwaves, radio stations began to lose listeners, and viewers started watching bands instead of just listening. With the power of the internet landing and making options like YouTube available, especially on smaller devices like phones, the attention span of the user got shorter, and they could just search out any video by any artist and watch it whenever they wanted. This led to a decline in viewership of pre-programmed content. No more waiting for your favorite video to come on, just find it and play it.
And, MTV Music, just as it started, closed the door on the channel forever by playing the video that started it all, “Video Killed The Radio Star” on December 31st, 2025.
While there is still a single MTV channel left broadcasting in 2026, it now has nothing to do with music videos, other than a 1-hour weekly block of videos. Now, the remaining channel broadcasts reality shows and things related to pop culture, almost purposely distancing and removing itself from what made the brand name successful in the first place.
In the UK and Ireland, December 31st was the last day for MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, and MTV Live, and they have also gone dark in France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Australia, and Brazil.
R.I.P. MTV Music Television 1981-2025
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