After over 40 years on TV, multiple MTV music channels will shut down this week in the UK.
According to BBC News, MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live will all stop broadcasting after Dec. 31, 2025.
The flagship channel, MTV HD, which airs reality shows like, “Naked Dating UK” and “Geordie Shore,” will not be affected.
It’s unclear if MTV’s music channels in the US will follow suit. A spokesman for MTV’s parent company, Paramount Skydance, declined to comment to the BBC about the shutdowns.
This decision reflects a significant shift in audience behavior, as music videos are now more commonly consumed via YouTube and social media rather than traditional television.
The move also comes just months after Paramount merged with David Ellison’s Skydance Media to form a new company headed by Ellison.
Paramount Skydance is also expected to pull the plug on MTV music channels in Australia, Poland, France, and Brazil, according to media reports in those countries.
Last month, Ellison shared plans in a letter to investors to achieve at least $3 billion in cost savings as well as reduce the workforce by 1,600 people, per Bloomberg.
MTV first launched as a music channel in the US in 1981 with a focus on showing the most popular music videos. The first music video to air on TV was fittingly The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star.”
MTV’s music channel played music videos on a 24-hour loop and was behind landmark events like the world premiere of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video and a 16-hour broadcast of Live Aid in 1985. The channel also launched the MTV Video Music Awards.
MTV Europe launched in 1987, with the UK receiving its own dedicated music channel by 1997.
Former MTV VJ Simone Angel, who worked for both MTV Europe and MTV UK in the ‘90s, told BBC News that she was “really sad” and “a little bit in disbelief” about the company’s decision.
“We need to support these artists and we all need to dance again and listen to music,” Angel continued. “And I know we do that online in our own little bubbles, but MTV was the place where everything came together. So it really does break my heart.”
