MTV shuts down final music-only channels with ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’

MTV have closed down their remaining dedicated music video channels, ending with the Buggles’ ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’.

As of yesterday (December 31), the network closed its final 24-hour music video stations across the UK, with MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live all being removed from platforms like Sky and Virgin Media. The flagship MTV channel will remain active in the UK, and it is expected to continue to primarily broadcast reality series.

As a sign-off, they played the video for 1979 new wave classic, a symbolic choice at it was also the first video that MTV ever aired when it launched in the US in 1981.

MTV’s parent company, Paramount Skydance, has also shuttered the same channels in Ireland, Germany, Austria, Poland, France, Hungry, Australia and Brazil (via Deadline).

There are now officially zero MTV channels in the UK that play actual music. pic.twitter.com/bQDYiwqSc2

— PumpkinSpider (same name on Bluesky) (@PumpkinSpider) December 31, 2025

After the launch of MTV in 1981, its counterpart channel MTV Europe followed in 1987 – opening with Dire Straits’ ‘Money For Nothing’ – and MTV UK arrived in 1997. That channel stopped showing music videos in 2011.

MTV quickly became a staple of pop culture after its launch, and was tied to countless historic moments in music, including the world premiere of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ video and the 16-hour broadcast of the Live Aid concerts in 1985.

There has been a marked shift in viewing habits since the channels’ heyday, with music videos now more commonly consumed on YouTube and social media rather than television.

MTV UK eventually branched out into original programming with series like Ex On The Beach and Teen Mom UK, but from 2011, all music programming was directed toward its sister stations, with the exception of the annual MTV European Music Awards.

When Paramount Global merged with Skydance Media in an $8billion deal in August, CEO David Ellison was said to be keen to cut costs, but was considering ways to revitalise MTV, and there has been speculation that there have been discussions about turning it into an online streaming service to rival YouTube and Spotify.

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