Photo Credit: Chris Benson
MTV has shut down several music-only video channels across the UK, Australia, Poland, France, and Brazil after nearly 40 years.
Almost 40 years after debuting outside the United States, several MTV music-only video channels across the UK, Europe, and South America have retired as of December 31. BBC News reports that the closure affects MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, and MTV Live. Other channels will be affected across Australia, Poland, France, and Brazil.
MTV’s parent company, Paramount Skydance, announced the move back in October as part of broader cost-cutting across its global portfolio to accommodate its merger earlier in the year. Notably, CEO David Ellison is reportedly still intending to revitalize the MTV brand and other cable channels—but it’s not clear what that might entail, especially on the heels of shuttering so much of its music-only programming.
The company’s flagship channels are still expected to remain operational in the UK and elsewhere. However, these channels mostly air reality programs. MTV HD will remain an option in the UK, but without music videos. Reportedly, the U.S. versions of the aforementioned channels will remain unaffected.
The decision to axe MTV’s music channels comes after several other controversial cost-cutting announced last year ahead of the merger. These include the cancellation of several award shows, such as the MTV Europe Music Awards and MTV Latin America’s MIAW Awards. The company is said to be looking to drop more than $500 million across its global portfolio.
As a music video channel, MTV launched in the U.S. in 1981, expanding to Europe and the UK in 1987. Ten years later, MTV added a dedicated channel in the UK. MTV Music launched in 2011; Consequence notes that the channel ended its broadcast by airing The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star,” which was the first video ever played on MTV in its 1981 debut.
