MTV

Music Television (MTV)
Logo since February 5, 2021, paying homage to the original 1981 logo.
CountryUnited States
Broadcast areaUnited States
HeadquartersOne Astor Plaza, 1515 Broadway, Times Square, Manhattan, New York City, NY
Programming
Language(s)
  • English
  • Spanish (via SAP audio track)
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed)
Timeshift serviceMTV East (New York City)
MTV West (Los Angeles)
Ownership
OwnerParamount Global
(National Amusements)
ParentMTV Entertainment Group
Key peopleChris McCarthy (President/CEO, MTV Entertainment Group)
Sister channels
History
LaunchedAugust 1, 1981 (1981-08-01)
Former names
  • MTV: Music Television (1981–2010)[1]
Links
Websitemtv.com Edit this at Wikidata
Availability
Streaming media
PhiloInternet Protocol television
HuluInternet Protocol television

MTV, an abbreviation of their full name Music Television until 2010 and again since 2016, is an American cable television channel. It was officially launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global.

The channel originally aired music videos and related programming as guided by television personalities known as video jockeys, or VJs.[2] MTV, as one of the American cable channels available in other countries became a cult hit. This was one of the factors in cable programming's rise to fame and American corporations dominating the television economy in the 1990s.[3][4] In the years since its inception, it significantly toned down its focus on music in favor of original reality programming for teenagers and young adults.

Since the late 2010s, MTV has devoted its programming schedule to select programs, primarily Ridiculousness, which in June 2020 aired "for 113 hours out of the network's entire 168-hour lineup".[5][6]

MTV has spawned numerous sister channels in the United States and affiliated channels internationally, some of which have since gone independent. Approximately 90.6 million households in the US received MTV as of January 2017.[7]

  1. ^ "MTV drops 'Music Television' from the network logo". Los Angeles Times. February 8, 2010. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  2. ^ "CNN – MTV changed the music industry on August 1, 1981 – July 31, 1998". Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  3. ^ Jennings, Peter; Brewster, Todd (November 1998). The Century (1st ed.). New York: Doubleday. p. 551. ISBN 0-385-48327-9.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Aurthur, Kate; Schneider, Michael (July 21, 2020). "R.I.P. Cable TV: Why Hollywood Is Slowly Killing Its Biggest Moneymaker". Variety. Archived from the original on September 2, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  6. ^ Gonzalez, John (September 15, 2020). "How Did MTV Become the 'Ridiculousness' Network?". The Ringer. Archived from the original on September 24, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  7. ^ "Cable Network Coverage Area Household Universe Estimates: January 2016". Archived from the original on December 2, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2017.