MTV, cable television network that began as a 24-hour platform for music videos.
MTV debuted just after midnight on August 1, 1981, with the broadcast of “Video Killed
the Radio Star” by the Buggles. Following the format of Top 40 radio, video disc jockeys
(or “veejays”) introduced videos and bantered about music news between clips. After
an initial splash, the network struggled in its early years. The music video reservoir
was then somewhat shallow, resulting in frequent repetition of clips, and cable television
remained a luxury that had not quite found its market. MTV expanded its programming
to include rhythm and blues artists, and the network took off. Singles such as “Billie
Jean” and “Beat It” from Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1982) not only showcased the
strengths of the music video format but proved that exposure on MTV could propel artists
to superstardom.
The network brought success to such newcomers as Madonna and new wave icons Duran
Duran, who used increasingly sophisticated techniques to make the visual elements
of the video as important as the music. MTV also gave renewed life to veteran performers
such as ZZ Top, Tina Turner, and Peter Gabriel, each of whom scored the biggest hits
of their careers thanks to heavy rotation of their videos. By the mid-1980s, MTV had
produced a noticeable effect on motion pictures, commercials, and television. It also
changed the music industry; looking good (or at least interesting) on MTV became as
important as sounding good when it came to selling recordings.
In 1985 entertainment conglomerate Viacom Inc. purchased MTV Networks, the parent
corporation of MTV, from Warner Communications Inc., and the shift in content was
both dramatic and immediate. Instead of free-form playlists of music that covered
a veejay’s entire shift, videos were packaged into discrete blocks based on genre.
This gave rise to specialty shows such as 120 Minutes (alternative rock), Headbangers
Ball (heavy metal), and Yo! MTV Raps (hip-hop). Before long, game shows, reality shows,
animated cartoons, and soap operas began to appear in the MTV lineup, and the network
shifted its focus from music to youth-oriented pop culture.
By the mid-1990s, the majority of MTV’s daily schedule was devoted to programming
that was not related to music. Its sister station VH1 had been broadcasting adult-oriented
rock videos since 1985, and it soon filled the vacuum, with original content such
as Pop Up Video and the documentary series Behind the Music. MTV Networks launched
MTV2 in 1996, with the intention of recapturing the spirit embodied by their “I want
my MTV” advertising campaign in the 1980s. MTV2 started with the same free-form structure
that characterized early MTV, but it soon shifted to genre-specific programs. By 2005
MTV2 had followed the same course as its parent network, with the bulk of its schedule
consisting of reality shows, celebrity coverage, and comedies.
While music had a reduced presence on MTV, videos remained important to the network
and its image. Beginning in 1984, MTV honoured achievement in the format with its
annual Video Music Awards. Total Request Live (TRL), an hour-long interview and music
video show, debuted in 1998 and anchored the weekday lineup. By the early 21st century,
however, MTV increasingly sought to position itself as a destination for music on
the Internet. Its Web site offered streaming video and audio content, and in 2007
it launched Rhapsody America, a joint venture with RealNetworks and Verizon Wireless,
as a subscription-based alternative to Apple Inc.’s wildly popular iTunes service;
in 2010 it was spun off as the independent company Rhapsody International. Partly
because of the popularity of viewing music videos on the Internet, TRL was canceled
in 2008, though it returned in 2017.
The Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers at the MTV Video Music Awards, 2008.
© Sbukley/Dreamstime.com
Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott performing at the MTV Video Music Awards, 2019.
Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock.com
In addition to its American properties, MTV maintained several continentwide channels
and numerous country-specific channels across the world.
Britannica. “MTV: Cable Television Network,” April 19, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/money/MTV.
