Mumbai, Dec 02 : As the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve 2025, social media was flooded with emotional tributes to MTV, sparked by the familiar opening of “Video Killed the Radio Star”. Many believed it was a poetic farewell to the channel that once defined youth and music. However, the rumours of an MTV shutdown are only partially true.
A Goodbye That Wasn’t Real
Despite online claims, MTV remained on air on January 1, 2026. The channel still broadcasts in the United States, although the lineup focuses on popular TV shows like The Big Bang Theory rather than music videos. The iconic VJs, countdowns, and back-to-back music videos that defined MTV are largely absent, creating the illusion that the network has disappeared.
What Actually Shut Down
The confusion originated in the United Kingdom, where Paramount Skydance closed several smaller MTV-branded music channels on December 31. These were specialist channels dedicated to music content. The main MTV UK channel, however, continues to broadcast, with the company reviewing its international TV operations amid a global shift toward streaming and digital consumption.
MTV in the US: Still On Air
In the United States, MTV and MTV2 continue to broadcast, though the focus has shifted from music to reality and scripted shows. Music remains available through digital channels and streaming platforms: MTV Classic airs hits from the 1980s to early 2000s, MTV Live features contemporary music, and several MTV branded FAST channels on Pluto TV stream pop, hip-hop, and Latin music.
From Music TV to Reality Programming
For generations of Gen Xers and Millennials, MTV was a cultural ritual, with shows like Headbanger’s Ball, 120 Minutes, Yo! MTV Raps, and later TRL. Over the years, reality programming replaced music, with shows like The Challenge, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and Ridiculousness dominating the schedule. Critics argue this shift left MTV feeling repetitive and distant from its musical roots.
Why the “Shutdown” Story Feels True
Several milestones fueled the perception that MTV was dead:
The closure of MTV News in 2023 and disappearance of its website archives in 2024
Media consolidation and cost-cutting by Paramount and Skydance, including layoffs in 2025
Declining cable viewership, with MTV ranking 49th in primetime in 2025, averaging just 189,000 viewers—down from over 600,000 a decade ago
MTV Lives On, but the Spirit Is Gone
While MTV continues to broadcast, the network that once shaped music, launched careers, and defined youth culture has long vanished. Today, the channel exists in name and logo, but for many fans, the farewell already happened years ago. The music spirit lives on digitally, but the MTV of legend belongs to the past.