By Kenneth Altobello 
MTV, the channel that revolutionized music and pop culture in the early 1980s, is reaching the end of its era as a music-focused network. After more than four decades shaping generations, the iconic brand is shutting down its music-only channels and redefining its role in the global entertainment landscape.
🎵 What’s happening to MTV?
Paramount Global has confirmed that by December 31, 2025, several MTV channels dedicated exclusively to music will stop broadcasting. These include:
- MTV Music
- MTV 80s
- MTV 90s
- Club MTV
- MTV Live
Starting in January 2026, these channels will officially become part of music history, marking the closure of a cultural phenomenon that transformed how the world consumed music.
📉 Why is MTV ending its music era?
The decision is driven by several key factors:
- Changes in music consumption habits: Platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Spotify, and social media are now the main spaces where younger generations discover music and video clips.
- Corporate strategy and profitability: Paramount is restructuring its business, cutting costs and focusing more heavily on streaming services and entertainment formats with higher returns.
- The decline of traditional television: Linear music TV channels have seen a steady drop in audiences, making them increasingly unsustainable.
📺 Is MTV disappearing completely?
Not exactly. The main MTV channel will continue to exist, but it will no longer function as a 24/7 music channel. Its programming will remain focused on reality shows and general entertainment, a shift that has been underway for more than a decade.
🎶 A legacy that changed pop culture forever
MTV was never just a TV channel — it was a cultural platform that:
- Turned the music video into a central promotional tool for artists
- Helped launch and shape the careers of global stars
- Influenced fashion, aesthetics, youth culture, and the relationship between artists and audiences
The phrase “Video Killed the Radio Star”, which opened MTV’s first broadcast in 1981, now feels symbolic not only of the beginning of an era — but also of its closing.