Who Killed the "Video Star"? MTV Closes the Era of Music Channels

End of 24-Hour Music Channels
The Era of Watching Music on TV Fades into History

After symbolizing global music video culture for over 40 years, the music channel MTV has ended the operation of its major music specialty channels, marking the close of an era.

According to international media outlets such as Rolling Stone and Deadline on January 1 (local time), MTV discontinued its 24-hour music-only channels in countries including the United Kingdom and Australia as of December 31 of last year. In the UK, several channels were shut down simultaneously, including MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, and MTV Live.

Ros? is receiving the 'Song of the Year' award at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards held last September at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. Photo by UPI Yonhap News

MTV first launched in the United States in 1981, heralding the beginning of the music video era by airing "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles as its inaugural song. The UK MTV music channel, which has now ended its broadcast, also chose the same song as its final track, opting for a symbolic conclusion.

Neither MTV nor its parent company, Paramount Global, has officially explained the specific reasons for discontinuing the music channels. However, industry analysts overwhelmingly point to the dramatic shift in music consumption habits as the decisive factor. The traditional way of watching music videos on TV has disappeared, replaced by a structure where individuals instantly consume their preferred content through platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and various streaming services.

Jared Broussard, a professor at the University of Colorado, referenced the title of The Buggles' song, stating, "Streaming killed the video star," and analyzed that changes in the media environment have narrowed the space for MTV's music channels.

The parent company Paramount is restructuring its business by focusing on the streaming service 'Paramount+' instead of maintaining the MTV channel. Reuters Yonhap News

The cost-cutting policy of parent company Paramount also appears to have influenced this decision. During its merger process with Skydance, Paramount has been reducing expenditures by discontinuing various events in Europe and Latin America and is restructuring its business to focus on the streaming service 'Paramount+' instead of maintaining less profitable cable channels.

However, the MTV brand will not disappear entirely. The main MTV channel, which focuses on reality entertainment programs, will remain, and some music channels in the United States will continue to operate for the time being. Nevertheless, amid the overall contraction of the cable TV market, there are uncertainties about the long-term survival of the remaining channels.

MTV expanded music from something simply listened to into a "viewing culture," transforming the flow of popular music. While it was an iconic platform that helped shape the peak eras of countless artists such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Nirvana, the format of a music channel has ultimately faded into history in the face of a digital and streaming-centered era.