Project MTV: Prologue - I Want My MTV
PREFACE:
Let me start off by saying I am not and will likely never become an employee of Paramount Skydance. I have no inside information nor privy to anything that is happening within Paramount Skydance or the MTV brand itself.
This is an original fan-made concept that will likely go nowhere beyond this presentation. My brain works differently than most folks, and when an idea pops up, I have to execute it completely. And if you're an individual coming from Paramount Skydance or any of its ancillary divisions, hey, thanks for checking these ideas out. We'll talk. -jh
MTV: Music Television: A Guide to Rebuild an Iconic Brand
PROLOGUE: I Want My MTV
On August 1, 1981, Warner AMEX launched MTV: Music Television, its third national cable channel. The first two, Nickelodeon and The Movie Channel, had started under less auspicious fanfare and struggled to gain audiences in their infancy, but MTV seemed like something special. It was a revolution that brought music videos to the masses and introduced generations to newer and fresh artists to mainstream audiences and helped launch a creative and societal shift for generations of audiences.
Every generation has their own opinions about what MTV was.
When you ask most folks what MTV is, you’ll get a lot of unique reactions.
Some would say that’s the channel that airs Catfish, Ridiculousness, The Challenge, and RuPaul’s Drag Race as well as a lot of older sitcoms like Friends and The Big Bang Theory all the time. But mostly Ridiculousness.
Some would look back at it fondly as the channel where they watched shows like Sifl and Ollie, Jersey Shore, True Life, My Super Sweet 16, Teen Mom, Wild ‘n Out, and The Hills.
Some will say that it was their oasis with shows like Beavis and Butthead, Daria, Aeon Flux, The Grind, The Real World, The State, Celebrity Deathmatch, Cribs, The Tom Green Show, The Osbornes Punk’d,, and Jackass, and TRL was appointment TV every afternoon.
Some fondly remember watching stuff like 120 Minutes, Yo! MTV Raps, Headbangers Ball, Club MTV, Unplugged, Just Say Julie, Remote Control, House of Style, Singled Out, and Liquid Television. And every weekend was cemented with the Top 20 Video Countdown.
And, of course, there are folks who fondly remember the original five VJs who presented the latest and coolest music videos with respect and love.
These are all valid takes on what MTV was.
What MTV is today isn’t exactly clear.
MTV is more or less a nostalgia brand that means nothing to younger audiences. Outlets like YouTube, Instagram, Spotify, and TikTok have taken the place of MTV when it comes to trending topics, engaging personalities, and music culture not only in the United States but throughout the world. There are so many places where you could find music programming.
And yet, the brand once synonymous with music television has been largely irrelevant in that genre for nearly two decades.
By literally taking Music Television out of its name, Viacom had largely turned the MTV brand into something that only celebrates its music video roots with the annual Video Music Awards, which brings a who’s who in music together in one place and had become just as much of a standard as the Grammys and the American Music Awards. In the other 364 days of the year, it’s mostly wall-to-wall reruns of a handful of shows (most notably Ridiculousness) and a few originals like RuPaul’s Drag Race, which migrated from sibling network VH1.
As media observers have noticed, music programming still brings in audiences. In fact, in 2025, the VMAs had its highest ratings since 2019. Sure, most of that is attributed to the fact that this was the first year the ceremonies were broadcast on CBS, but it’s still a significant milestone that proves the annual event is a huge draw. Music is big business everywhere.
MTV’s irrelevance over the decades has weakened what the brand is. What once was a cornerstone of pop culture has become an insignificant brand with no connection to modern viewers and a frayed tether to the generations that made it popular at its peak.
The entertainment industry loves a comeback story.
By concentrating on the core elements of the brand, recognizing what works, want needs to be fixed, what should be avoided, understanding and fully utilizing the library assets already in place, and understanding the marketplace and truly adapting aside from cosmetic visual changes, MTV could regain its place as a pop cultural icon.
It’s going to take time.
It’s going to be a creative, commercial, and financial investment. If the powers-that-be at Paramount Skydance are truly serious about their ambitions, dedicated to them, and will put in the investment, time, and the actual effort, MTV could be truly reborn as the true music cultural powerhouse it was always meant to be.
It’s time to reintroduce the world to MTV: Music Television.
Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.
Comments