For those who grew up in the 1990s and 2000s, MTV wasn’t just a television channel, it was a true cultural phenomenon. Musical television allowed you to watch video clips, discover new artists and experience the energy of music directly from your bedroom. Today, however, this era is about to end: Paramount has decided to withdraw several music channels in Europe from the linear market by 31 December 2025, starting from Great Britain, leaving only MTV HD on the air, now dedicated to reality and entertainment.
The reason? The advent of social networks, first YouTube and now TikTok, has shifted music consumption away from traditional television. Channels such as MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live will shut down, symbolically marking the end of an era in which music came through the television screen.
The beginnings and the iconic moments
The history of MTV begins in 1981 with the first video broadcast, Video Killed the Radio Star of the Buggles. The channel quickly exploded, bringing iconic moments over the years such as the premiere of Thriller by Michael Jackson, the MTV Video Music Awards and the 16 hours of Live Aid concerts in 1985. It arrived in Europe in 1987 via satellite, while in Italy MTV Europe was only seen in the early nineties, with the official birth of MTV Italia in 1997, inaugurated by the first MTV Day with a U2 concert.
The faces of VJs such as Victoria Cabello, Andrea Pezzi and Alessandra De Siati have accompanied generations of viewers, while programs such as Total Request Livehosted by Giorgia Surina, Marco Maccarini and Alessandro Cattelan, have made MTV a point of reference for young audiences. Even reality shows like The Osbournes they transformed the channel, progressively shifting the focus from music to entertainment.
A legacy that remains
Despite the closure of music channels, at the moment in Italy MTV will continue to be available on Sky channel 131, streaming on Now and on Sky Glass channel 122. Music on television may be a memory, but the emotional connection with that generation remains intact. The nostalgia for video clips, VJs and big live events cannot be erased, and the cry of a generation continues to echo: “I want my MTV!”.
The time of linearly rotating video clips seems over, but the memory of those years remains alive, witness to a cultural phenomenon that profoundly affected music, television and the adolescence of millions of people.
You might also be interested in:
