MTV to Shut Down Iconic Music Channels by December 2025: End of an Era for Music Television

MTV has been the king of youth and the music scene for more than 40 years, but now the time has come to say goodbye to its five original music channels. MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, and MTV Live, the latter of which was confirmed by Paramount Global on October 12, will no longer broadcast on December 31, 2025, all over the world.

This change is the biggest one the network has ever experienced, as it has gone from being a pioneering force in music and entertainment across the globe to only wanting to be a player in the digital and streaming worlds.

What Channels Are Going Off-air in MTV?

The channels mentioned below will no more be seen on TV worldwide by the year's end:

MTV Music – the primary place for music videos.

MTV 80s – bringing back good old days with retro and classical hits.

MTV 90s – the site for all the 1990s pop and rock favorites.

Club MTV – the channel aimed at dance, EDM, and club tracks.

MTV Live – the station that presented concerts and live performance specials.

The main MTV channel has not yet been shut down; however, it is going to be primarily reality-based shows like Catfish and The Challenge instead of music programming.

The closures are first going to take place in the UK and Ireland, then it will continue on across Europe, Australia, and Latin America that includes markets like Poland, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Brazil.

What Is the Reason Behind MTV Shutting Down Music Channels?

The decision follows the trends of changing viewing habits, shrinking TV audiences, and downsizing the corporation after Paramount Global’s takeover of Skydance Media merger earlier this year.

The big points are:

Change in viewers' preferences: Nowadays, people prefer to watch music videos and find new music through YouTube, TikTok, and Spotify making the regular music TV less important.

Cost cutting: The network has decided to cut down on expenses as part of the new $500 million global cost-reduction plan of Paramount.

Dwindling viewership: Stations such as MTV 90s and MTV Music which have over a million viewers every month are slowly losing their audiences of the 1990s and 2000s, that is why their ratings are so low.

A Sentimental Farewell

MTV, which began its operation in 1981, not only changed the way the audience listened to music but also made it possible for a whole new set of artists to become worldwide celebrities as well as influenced the changes in music genres and moods of the different generations. Despite this, over the years the channel has been gradually moving towards reality entertainment.

Former MTV VJ Simone Angel could not hide her emotions and said, “I am really sad and a little in disbelief. MTV was the place that brought everything together. So, it is very sad to me.”

MTV’s Farewell: Digital and Social Media Channels

To keep its fans’ interest, a new era of content and programming directed at the younger generation will be on digital and Paramount+ in place of its linear music channels going dark. While the channels are gone, MTV plans to maintain its social media presence and even expand its digital programming to include younger audiences through Paramount+.