Project MTV: Final Questions

 Writer's Note: I am not, nor will I ever expect to be associated with and employed by MTV and its parent company, Paramount Skydance. This is part of #projectmtv, a fan-made MTV rebranding project. This is not happening in any form, but it's fun to dream. - jh  

1) “Will MTV air music videos 24 hours a day?”

Absolutely not.

None of the four MTV linear networks will be wall-to-wall music videos. Price concerns aside, the need to air all videos is completely unnecessary in the age of YouTube, which has unedited music at your fingertips at every given hour of the day.

The main MTV network will be 50% music programming, which is, honestly 100% more music than the network currently airs today. In addition to the morning and mid-afternoon blocks, MTV will also air MTV Top 20 Video Countdown every Friday night with next day streaming on Paramount+ and a Sunday primetime rebroadcast on Club MTV.

There will be music airing in a bulk of the hours of the secondary channels. MTV Palladia will be 100% music-focused programming, not limited to just music videos, while MTV Generation will be 85% music-focused, and Club MTV will be 40% music and primarily a general entertainment network infused with the MTV music culture.

2) “Does MTV need an online music video channel?”

While he MTV Generation channels will fill that niche, partnering with one of the two major global music video providers (VEVO or XITE) either as domestic sponsor or as minority investor would help expand the brand’s reach in that medium.

VEVO would likely be a more likely partner since that unit is a partnership with the major music labels while XITE would be more of a global partner since its reach is much wider internationally. Between the two, an investment in VEVO would be more fruitful to MTV.

In the meantime, any music-themed productions would air on the four MTV linear networks, the FAST channels, the Pluto TV exclusive channels, and on Paramount+ on the commercial-free tier and with limited ads on the ad tiers.

3) What happens if the linear channels don’t succeed?

MTV Generation, MTV Palladia, and Club MTV could easily migrate from linear cable and satellite to FAST outlets as well as become linear brands on Pluto TV (where they would be at launch) or Paramount+, albeit with a commercial-free format on the latter. The cable industry is in a period of flux, but the commitment by network providers like Paramount Skydance should ensure its survival. If there is a strong commitment to restoring the MTV brands, the rebranding efforts would be well-received by cable and satellite operators.

4) "You barely mentioned Tr3s and haven't mentioned MTV U at all."

You’re right. I haven’t mentioned them much.

MTV U largely exists as a burner channel after Paramount sold the original MTV U closed-circuit college channel space to the streaming financial news channel Cheddar.

Tr3s is also a burner channel that only airs Spanish-language videos aimed towards American Latinos.

Neither have original programming, and both should shut down in the rebrand. Some Tr3s video blocks could be incorporated into Club MTV’s programming, and the Tr3s brand could be revamped as a FAST channel.

MTV U, on the other hand, would completely cease to be a stand-alone channel but an umbrella brand for college-themed programs on MTV, Club MTV, and other digital endeavors.

5) “What other channels would you sacrifice?”

Honestly, I feel the TeenNick and NickMusic channels would overlap what Club MTV is doing, so those two channels would obviously have to cease broadcasting. NickMusic, formerly known as MTV Hits, currently has a better layout than other MTV channels.

Given how the oldest members of NickMusic’s target audience are in the range of what MTV’s youngest target demo should be, it would be most advantageous if the blocks from that channel (Pop Paradise, Videos We Heart, Party Playlist, and Mega Hits) migrated to MTV and Club MTV.

Some of Nick’s teen-driven programming, most notably dramas like South of Nowhere, Hollywood Heights, House of Anubis and I Am Frankie, could easily fill some mid-morning and after-school slots of Club MTV as well.

I’d keep the TeenNick name as an umbrella brand for the main Nickelodeon channel as well as a FAST channel. NickMusic would head into the sunset with MTV becoming the music brand of Paramount Skydance. I don’t see where or why they still fit in the kid-centric Nickelodeon paradigm, but that’s a whole conversation for another time.

As for the futures of other Paramount-owned music spinoffs like BET Hits, BET Jams, and CMT Music, those do not fall under MTV’s purview. While BET and MTV will share resources, BET would continue to manage their own outlets. CMT is autonomously run, and at this time, it is the lone CMT music-centric brand.

6) "Speaking of Nickelodeon, why are you so determined to put Nick programming on MTV channels, especially having Nicktoons on the lineup?

Nickelodeon, much like every kid-vid network brand under the sun, has had an identity crisis in recent years. Younger viewers aren't watching the channel as much as they used to, and older viewers have aged out of the first kids' network since they're no longer kids. 

Much like MTV, Nickelodeon has largely become a nostalgia brand for older audiences, and much of Nick's efforts to get their original audiences from the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s haven't been successful. 

Airing older shows on Nickelodeon proper doesn't make much sense since kids really don't want to watch the stuff their parents and older siblings used to watch. You have to create a balance, and sometimes, you have to break out of that formula to survive.

Shows like Ren & Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, Angry Beavers, As Told by Ginger, and Invader ZIM always skewed older. In fact, the recent Netflix movies were more aimed towards adult audiences, not kids, so airing them outside of the Nicktoons bubble and having them on a more mature outlet like MTV makes sense in the long run.

Similarly, the target demographic of what Club MTV would be is the same one that watched shows from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s, especially the more teen-driven shows that have comedic and dramatic moments. Something like Are You Afraid of the Dark?, House of Anubis, or The Legend of Korra always had an older fanbase way outside of Nick's demo.

 Additionally, some shows like All That, Kenan and Kel, True Jackson, Big Time Rush, and Victorious would easily attract the same target demo outside of the typical Nick audiences, and since Nick isn't going to air them, why not bring those shows into the MTV fold, especially since TeenNick has proven itself to be a failure?

While I do acknowledge that SpongeBob SquarePants has a significant adult audience, keeping it a Nickelodeon exclusive and away from the MTV brand is important, especially given how it's also one of the most solid kids' brand on the channel and television as a whole. It doesn't need to air on MTV or anywhere else. In fact, the majority of Nick originals would be best under the Nickelodeon brand. Most Nicktoons like Rugrats, Hey Arnold, Fairly Oddparents, The Wild Thornberrys, CatDog, Jimmy Neutron, and The Loud House and anything under the Nick Jr. brand wouldn't fit on MTV. Henry Danger and The Thundermans as well as countless live-action originals also wouldn't fit. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Danny Phantom might fit a little better than most. MTV is largely a teen and young adult 18-35 brand, and its programming should reflect that, even if it includes shows this audience grew up watching. But MTV will NOT be a Nickelodeon graveyard.

7) “Will there be hours of Ridiculousness throughout the schedule?”

No. The long-running and high-rated series will have limited scheduling under the rebranded MTV. It will have a primetime presence of an hour, and newer episodes would air Mondays at 10 PM during the 10 Spot block. The series would be limited to two hours per day max on most days except Mondays, where it would air four hours due to the premiere and the 1 AM encore that night. It would also have its own self-contained FAST channel available on most AVOD and FAST streaming platforms, including Pluto TV.

8) “Why isn’t South Park part of Liquid Television when Beavis and Butthead is also on Comedy Central?”

Personally, I feel that the MTV audience and the Comedy Central audiences are way different demographically-speaking. Comedy Central is targeted to the 18-35 male demographic and has always been. MTV skews a bit younger from 12 to 24 and typically female.

While there is a bit of an overlap, a show like South Park would stick out on MTV, and not in a good way. Comedy Central allows a show like South Park to get away with more vulgarity and rougher language compared to MTV, which would edit a lot of the series due to its mature nature (nearly all episodes rate a TV-MA while MTV programming rarely goes above TV-14), and I feel it’s more respectful for South Park to remain a Comedy Central exclusive much like SpongeBob SquarePants remains a Nickelodeon exclusive.

Beavis and Butthead being on both Comedy Central and MTV isn’t that much of a deviation. While the newer cycles premiere on Comedy Central, the encores find a permanent home on MTV, where the series has familial roots. Beavis and Butthead has been synonymous with the MTV brand since it debuted as part of the original Liquid Television anthology series, so it’s only natural these lovable losers came back home to their old couch, eat nachos, and watch videos and other nonsense.

9) “Why aren’t the FOX animated sitcoms like Futurama, King of the Hill, Bob's Burgers, and Family Guy a part of Liquid Television?”

Because they’re already on Comedy Central, FXX, Hulu, and Adult Swim. Why do they need ANOTHER linear TV home?

10) "You know this will never actually happen, right?"

Absolutely. I knew going into this project that something this massive would never really happen. I know that no media company would ever put this kind of thought or foresight into revitalizing a venerated brand like MTV to this degree, especially on linear television. 

A total revitalization of an iconic brand like MTV is a once-in-a-generation endeavor, and Viacom failed to do that in the age of streaming. Instead, they retreated, threw everything onto Paramount+, and abandoned not only MTV but all of their major cable brands. 

It's disheartening they didn't even try. 

As I said when I started this project, I mentioned how the new owners of Paramount Global, Skydance, wants to revitalize the MTV brand, but, as is often the case with many of these media companies, I’m afraid they’re not going to go all-in on doing it. 

I also know the owners of Paramount Skydance wouldn't fully embrace the progressive atmosphere that MTV once espoused. Once shunning Black acts, MTV evolved into a progressive outlet that embraced multiculturalism, civil rights, LGBT+ rights, and other liberal ideals. These are some of the principles I wanted to amplify in this project, and I know that the more conservative mindset of the ownership group will spill over into MTV over time, though if they're serious about wanting to reclaim the brand's luster, perhaps shunning minorities and marginalized people wouldn't be the best strategy. 

Just saying.

I have no arrogance to believe these folks would even know who I am or even read these words. I’m just putting out a plan that I would do if I was in their situation. I doubt they’d even do a fraction of what I’m suggesting, but at least there is A plan that seems more realistic. Again, it’s a costly and time-consuming plan, but it’s better than slapping a new sticker on a pile of rubble and calling it brand new.  

But it'd be cool to actually try something new as opposed to the nothing Paramount has largely done in recent years.

Closing Thoughts

This was a fun project to tackle, and as a result, I've gained a greater appreciation of the MTV brand as a whole. Also, while figuring out a plan, I grew frustrated at what isn't being done at MTV. 

The impact the brand originally had on generations of viewers is not found today. Sure, there's an annual VMA ceremony, but when it overshadows and is so disconnected with MTV itself, this should have been a warning sign that something is clearly wrong with the brand.

As I've said throughout #projectmtv, I want to see the brand survive not just linearly but beyond cable. If Paramount Skydance is serious about reigniting that rocket for the next generation and beyond, what I've suggested would be a huge step in that direction. 

MTV needs to recognize who the hell they are and embrace music once more. It's time to rock and roll.