"The news that MTV is shutting down its music channels does not come as a surprise to me. Starting in 1986, I ran MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and other cable TV networks for 17 years as the CEO of MTV Networks, the sun in Viacom's solar system. It hasn't been that for a while. MTV has been losing credibility for years, and it's devolved into a dumping ground for B-grade reality shows. No new music energy has been pumped into it for ages."
"The business case for running music videos on a linear TV cable network in this increasingly digital, on-demand world is terrible and only getting worse. Why sit around and wait for Beyoncé when you can summon her video with a simple click? David Ellison, who recently merged Paramount Global with his company Skydance Media, has an opportunity to step back and try to reimagine MTV as a new destination outside the confines of a linear TV network."
MTV is shutting down U.K. music channels as linear music-video cable networks face a deteriorating business case in the digital, on-demand era. MTV has been losing credibility and has become a repository for B-grade reality shows with little new music energy. The United States could follow the U.K. decision. On-demand platforms allow immediate access to videos, undermining scheduled programming. The Paramount-Skydance merger offers an opening to reimagine MTV outside linear TV. Historically, MTV acted as a cultural gatekeeper that could rapidly elevate unknown artists and favored taking risks and quick iteration over aging with its audience.
Read at Vulture
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