Quick highlights
- Paramount Global will close five MTV music channels (MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, MTV Live) on 31 December 2025.
- The flagship MTV channel (MTV HD) will remain on air, but now airs mostly reality programming, not rolling music videos.
- Reason: long-term decline in linear music TV viewers and cost-cutting as the parent restructures amid streaming-first priorities.
- Closures start in the U.K. and Ireland and will roll out across other markets (Europe, Australia, Brazil, etc.).
What happened
Paramount announced it will stop broadcasting five of MTV’s music-themed linear channels at the end of this year. Those feeds focused on classic decades, hits, club culture, and live performances will be switched off on December 31, 2025.
Where this applies
The first markets named were the U.K. and Ireland; reports say the closures will follow in several European countries and other territories where MTV runs similar music feeds. The core MTV brand and some regional TV operations will continue in other forms.
Why it’s happening
Two basic forces pushed this decision:
- Audience shift — people now find music videos on on-demand platforms (YouTube, TikTok, streaming services), so fewer watch scheduled music TV.
- Business pressure — parent company restructuring and broad cost cuts have reprioritised streaming, franchises and global consolidation over small linear music channels.
How MTV arrived here
MTV began in 1981 as a 24/7 music video channel and for decades shaped how young people discovered music and style. Over the last 15 years, it steadily moved toward reality shows and entertainment franchises; by 2011, the main channel largely stopped regular video playlists, pushing music to niche sister channels that are now being closed.
What this means
- For fans: End of a curated, linear music-TV experience, though most content lives online and at live events (VMAs, playlists).
- For artists: Fewer linear outlets for video premieres, but platforms like YouTube, Spotify and social media already dominate discovery.
- Culturally: Symbolic, a generational marker showing that communal, appointment-to-watch music TV is largely over.
Where to watch music now
YouTube, Spotify (video features), Vevo, TikTok and platform-based premieres are the practical alternatives. For nostalgia, many MTV playlists and archival clips still exist online and on demand.
Short takeaway
This is less a sudden death and more a long, inevitable fade: MTV’s music channels are closing because viewers left linear TV years ago. The brand won’t disappear, but the way people find and watch music has changed for good.
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