Once a cultural phenomenon, MTV ends five music channels in the UK; viewership in the U.S. continues its downward slide
When MTV announced earlier this year that it would be shutting down music channels at the end of 2025, the reaction was nearly unanimous: MTV still plays music?
The digital networksโMTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Liveโ will shut down in the United Kingdom, Ireland and several other countries in Europe. In the United States, MTVโs secondary networksโMTV2, MTV Live, MTV Classic and MTVUโwill continue operatingย for now despite declining viewership and being carried through cable.
The changes are evidence of both the global reach MTV had at its peak and the significant changes that have occurred in television, especially over the last decade as the rise of streaming and cord cutting has led to a dramatic decline in cable and linear viewing.
Music programming has been a part of television since the 1930s, when radio broadcasters transitioned to the visual medium and many of the early experimental broadcasts in the United States and Europe featured live musical performances.
As television matured following World War II, music continued to be an integral part of its growth with variety programs like The Ed Sullivan Show, which debuted as Toast of the Town in 1948, and American Bandstand, which debuted as a local program in Philadelphia in 1952 featuring top musical acts.
These shows not only brought musical acts into peopleโs homes but were one of the few opportunities for African Americans to be seen on the quickly growing medium.
The Ethel Waters Show, a variety special that aired on NBC in New York City in 1939, was the first television show to be hosted by an African American. Later, as television spread, Nat โKingโ Cole hosted his own show, which aired nationally beginning in 1956, but struggled to gain a permanent sponsor in its 13 months on air, causing Cole to comment โMadison Avenue is afraid of the dark.โย In…