Line #54 Creator/MTV


1	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1631503334038121800
2	%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
3	%%
4	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mtv_new_official_logo_2021_1.png]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:[[Music/DireStraits I want my, I want my, I want my MTV!]]]]
6	%%
7	->''"Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll."''
8	-->-- The very first lines ever spoken on MTV
9
10	On August 1, 1981, at 12:01 AM, pop culture was changed forever by a new cable network that introduced a brand new idea -- a TV channel that played {{music videos}}, 24/7. That network was [[http://mtv.com MTV]]. Ironically, the first video they ever showed was "Music/VideoKilledTheRadioStar" ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8r-tXRLazs link]]) by Music/TheBuggles.
11
12	The results were fantastic. In TheEighties, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV Music Television]] was the iTunes, Website/YouTube, ''and'' Spotify of the day, a revolution in pop culture and how music was enjoyed. Countless bands and artists (Music/{{Madonna}}, Music/MichaelJackson, Music/DuranDuran, Music/CyndiLauper, Music/RickAstley, and just about every HairMetal band) saw their careers [[ColbertBump launched or furthered]] because of the heavy video rotation of some of their songs. If they were popular in the '80s, they were on MTV. Later in the decade, the network would also receive acclaim for devoting time to bands that played what was then called "[[CollegeRadio college rock]]" (now known as AlternativeRock) on their ''120 Minutes'' series, as well as HeavyMetal on ''Series/HeadbangersBall'' and [[HipHop hip-hop/rap]] on ''Yo! MTV Raps''. While image, style, and appearance were important parts of the music world long before MTV (just look at Music/DavidBowie, Music/TheBeatles, or even Music/ElvisPresley), the network's rise elevated those things into an art form almost on par with the music itself.
13
14	One unexpected result of MTV's success was the rise of [[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} British]] pop and rock groups in UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates. Music videos had caught on in Britain back in [[TheSeventies the mid '70s]] thanks to shows like ''Series/TopOfThePops'', giving that country a much higher music video output than the US in MTV's formative years. Most American videos in the early '80s, by contrast, were videotaped concert performances. As MTV was desperate for any music videos that it could get its hands on, it threw many of those British vids on the air to fill airtime, leading to what has been called a second [[MediaNotes/TheBritishInvasion British Invasion]] as bands saw themselves developing [[{{Squee}} screaming]] [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff American fanbases]] virtually overnight. The network also began to expand to content other than music videos, shows, and concerts when it began airing reruns of the sitcoms ''Series/TheMonkees'' and ''Series/TheYoungOnes'', both of which had a musical element.
15
16	[[NewMediaAreEvil Like any new trend in popular culture]], it wouldn't be long before MTV was hit with its first criticism from both the left and the right. In its early years, it was ''all white''.[[note]]In its early days, only a handful of black artists were played, on an incidental basis, and were mostly British or Caribbean acts associated with ska and new wave like Eddy Grant, Musical Youth, and Creator/GraceJones, or were part of multi-racial groups like Music/TheSpecials, Thompson Twins, and Music/CultureClub.[[/note]] Music/DavidBowie among others sharply criticized the network [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZGiVzIr8Qg during a live 1983 interview]] for not playing videos by black artists. Programming directors attributed this to the fact that they were playing rock[[note]]And uh... on that note, ''who'' created rock and roll?[[/note]], primarily AOR -- "album-oriented" rock[[note]]and [[SarcasmMode of course]] [[Music/LionelRichie there]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Baker weren't]] [[Music/MarvinGaye any]] [[Music/StevieWonder black]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smokey_Robinson artists]] doing AOR[[/note]], and that they didn't want to "cater to fringe groups."[[note]] A not so subtle dig at the rising hip-hop scene.[[/note]] Various former [=VJs=] and executives at MTV (including Carolyn Baker, their former head of talent and acquisition, [[OffendingTheCreatorsOwn who was herself black]]) have discussed the causes of this, noting on one hand that the record industry in general was giving black artists short shrift in the early '80s in the wake of the [[DiscoSucks American collapse of disco]][[note]]and coming under heavy fire from the Black Music Association for it[[/note]] (including when it came to funding music videos); but also that MTV, which could have used its influence to rectify the situation, was instead arguably fueling the problem with its reluctance to show videos by non-white artists. In any event, Music/MichaelJackson and Music/{{Prince}}, with their undeniable cross-racial appeal[[note]]''Salon'' senior writer Andrew Leonard, who had worked as a night club DJ in 1980s Taipei, [[https://www.salon.com/2009/06/26/remembering_michael/ observed]] that "certain songs got all the foreigners on the floor, others appealed to Taiwanese women, and so on: but ''Billie Jean'' was the song that you saved for when you needed to rejuvenate a dead night; a magic trick that could instantly transform a cemetery into a rave. As the first sinister notes pumped out of the speakers, you could see ears prick up and bodies tense all over the club, as if a meadow full of grazing deer had suddenly caught the scent of a pack of wolves. Except, instead of fleeing in terror, the mass reaction was to surge onto the dance floor." KHIL's Mark Lucke, in redneck-heavy Willcox, Arizona, [[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jun/06/radio-silence-how-the-disappearance-of-rural-stations-takes-americas-soul-with-them noted]] that in the local honky-tonk bar, "you have your typical George Strait po-dunky songs, and there are people out there, but it’s boring. No one’s alive. And then all of a sudden, they put on Michael Jackson. And that dance floor was packed, like sardines. And then they went back to po-dunk, and it died."[[/note]] are often credited for laying the first cracks in MTV's color barrier (with CBS Records president Walter Yetnikoff threatening to pull all of the label's videos from MTV if they didn't show Michael). By 1984, videos by black artists were in regular rotation on the network. In 1985, meanwhile, the HardcorePunk band Music/DeadKennedys released their classic [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oCPNMZuWwI "MTV Get Off the Air",]] attacking the young network for devaluing the importance of music and for being a corporate shill. Feminists criticized the channel's videos' often [[MaleGaze sexualized depiction of women]] as misogynistic, especially at the height of the HairMetal and later GlamRap booms. From the other direction, MTV's also long been a favorite whipping boy for conservative MoralGuardians, who have long felt it to be a den of {{filth}}, dangerous behavior, left-wing activism, and PoliticalOvercorrectness, leading MTV to adopt a strict policy prohibiting videos with Satanic or anti-religious themes. Of course, [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity none of this did anything to hurt the network's popularity]] -- famously, UsefulNotes/BillClinton's appearances on MTV provided a huge boost to his youth support during his Presidential campaign in 1992.
17
18	In TheNineties, MTV started bringing HipHop acts into regular rotation, and the {{grunge}} and AlternativeRock that had been popularized on ''120 Minutes'' started displacing HairMetal. Later in the decade, MTV was instrumental in the rise of BoyBand[=s=], GirlGroup[=s=], and IdolSinger[=s=] like Music/BritneySpears, Music/ChristinaAguilera, Music/{{TLC}}, Music/DestinysChild, the Music/BackstreetBoys, and Music/{{NSYNC}}, which themselves partly displaced rock music. Music/{{Eminem}}, brought into the fold as a SubvertedKidsShow version of a TeenIdol, [[SitcomArchNemesis beefed with]] the above stars while fusing HardcoreHipHop and TeenPop, riding a [[TheNewRockAndRoll moral panic]] that [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity delivered hip-hop to white America]]. Grunge pressed on into PostGrunge, with Music/{{Nickelback}} and Music/{{Creed\|Band}} leading the way, and NuMetal bands like Music/LinkinPark, Music/{{Korn}}, and Music/{{Slipknot}} emerged to bring a harder sound into the mainstream -- and act as [[GatewaySeries Gateway Music]] to a whole generation of metalheads [[OldShame no matter how loath]] they are to admit it. The music videos became more professional, having evolved from marketing tools to encourage album sales into the main attraction; price tags of over a million dollars for short films just three or four minutes long were not unheard of. ''Total Request Live'', or ''TRL'', a program where viewers got to call in and vote for their favorite music videos to air, became a sensation, turning host Carson Daly into a celebrity in his own right. It was with the launch of this show that MTV opened its famous studio in [[BigApplesauce Times Square]].
19
20	At the same time, a new focus was placed on pop culture in general rather than just music, following the success of non-music shows like ''Series/RemoteControl'' (MTV's first non-video program, a game show revolving around inane TV factoids), ''Series/TheRealWorld'', ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'', and others. MTV still played a lot of music, just not as much as it used to. MTV became home to a variety of offbeat original live-action and animated programs, most notably the anthology program ''WesternAnimation/LiquidTelevision'' that [[MorePopularSpinoff spawned]] a number of MTV's best-remembered non-music programs from the '90s, including the [[MediaNotes/MTVMovieAndTVAward MTV Movie Awards]] (they would add TV in 2017), ''WesternAnimation/AeonFlux'' and the aforementioned ''B&B''. Other shows from this era include the SketchComedy show ''Series/TheState'', the animation anthology ''MTV's Oddities'' which launched ''WesternAnimation/TheMaxx'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheHead'', the BloodyHilarious {{claymation}} show ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'', and the ''B&B'' {{spinoff}} ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}''. ''TRL'' itself quickly became more focused on the Times Square studio antics than the music videos, which would in many cases only get ''30 seconds'' of airtime. Nevertheless, for many Gen-Xers and millennials, the argument over whether the '80s or the '90s was MTV's golden age can be a heated one, and boils down largely to whether one prefers the purely music-driven format of the '80s or the edgy, countercultural non-music shows of the '90s. In any event, in 1996 MTV created a sister network, initially known as [=M2=] but later known as [=MTV2=], that would be dedicated entirely to music to answer concerns over the main network's shift in programming.
21
22	The TurnOfTheMillennium was when the NetworkDecay that had been setting in at MTV for the last decade really began to take over. Carson Daly's departure from ''TRL'' in 2003 set that show on a slow decline, finally being cancelled in 2008 (before it was revived again in 2017). Non-music-related shows took over the schedule, pushing music videos into the late night and early morning hours. Most importantly, the rise of online sources such as [=YouTube=], iTunes, Pandora, Spotify and even MTV's own [[http://www.mtvhive.com/ MTV Music]] meant that people no longer needed to watch MTV to get their music video fix, which led to MTV diverting even more hours away from music programming. One could say that [[MeaningfulEcho the internet killed the video star]]. In 2010, the network officially dropped the "Music Television" subtitle.
23
24	Today, the main MTV network has all but abandoned playing music outside of special occasions, such as the [[MediaNotes/MTVVideoMusicAward Video Music Awards]]. As of 2024, the only music-related programming that airs regularly is ''Fresh Out Live'', an ''8''-minute live interstitial that features live performances, interviews and a few music videos. The ''Fresh Out Playlist'' music video block airs sparingly on weekends.[[note]]MTV did not have a regular video block for a period that spanned from the 2014 end of ''MTV First'' to the 2019 premiere of the short-lived ''TRL Top 10''. During this time videos were only seen during commercial breaks, video premieres, and special occasions; for instance, the death of Music/{{Prince}} in April 2016 saw the channel pre-empt its afternoon programming to devote several hours worth of airtime to playing his videos.[[/note]] Much of the music content has been moved online to MTV's website and social media channels under the aforementioned "Fresh Out" branding or under ''MTV PUSH''. Even [=MTV2=], which used to play only a few hours of music a day in the early morning hours, eventually dropped its video blocks in November 2017. Despite music videos being the first to film consistently in the format, they didn't even air any videos in Platform/HighDefinition until August 2012, long after rival network Fuse (which was created partly in response to MTV's decay) had converted to HD. The kids of the "MTV Generation" have grown up to have kids of their own, and the network's popularity amongst music fans has faded a great deal since its heyday in the '80s and '90s due to the aforementioned rise of online music services; the current erosion of cable ratings across the television landscape as TV viewing has similarly moved online doesn't help the network's case either. To further underscore this, the channel's milestone 40th anniversary on August 1, 2021 wasn't even celebrated on the channel or social media outlets; instead the channel aired an all-day marathon of ''Series/{{Ridiculousness}}'', [[AdoredByTheNetwork as per usual]]. The 40th anniversary was acknowledged and celebrated properly during the 2021 Video Music Awards, a month later.
25
26	While there are still a vocal minority of music fans holding out for the day that the "M" in MTV can become meaningful again, to deny that the network has fundamentally shaped popular culture into what it is now would be impossible. At the very least, there are several MTV "channels" on the Viacom-owned Creator/PlutoTV streaming service that are MTV-branded and play music videos all day.
27
28	After the 2006 Viacom-Creator/{{CBS}} split, MTV, like its fellow cable networks, went to the ownership of the second Viacom. When they [[Creator/ViacomCBS (re)merged]] in 2019, MTV was placed under its Domestic Media Networks division. The larger MTV Entertainment Group also operates Creator/ComedyCentral, Creator/{{CMT}}, [[Creator/{{LOGO}} Logo TV]], Creator/ParamountNetwork, Creator/PopTV, the Smithsonian Channel, and TV Land, in addition to MTV and its sister channels.
29
30	See also Creator/MuchMusic, a similar Canadian network that previously launched an American feed, now known as Fuse.[[note]]CFMT-TV (now known as OMNI) in Toronto also branded itself as "MTV" for a time during the 1980s, though in this case the "M" stood for "multicultural" and not "music." The channel did, though, air some music video programming under the American MTV branding.[[/note]]
31
32	!!Original series that have aired on MTV:
33	[[index]]
34	* ''[[Series/OneHundredAndTwentyMinutes 120 Minutes]]'' (1986-2003; 2011-2013)
35	* ''Series/SixteenAndPregnant'' (2009-14, 2020-present)
36	** ''Series/TeenMom'' (2009-12, 2015-present)
37	* ''[[WesternAnimation/ThreeSouth 3-South]]'' (2002-03)
38	* ''Series/AlternativeNation'' (1992-1997): Much like Post Modern MTV, but was hosted by Kennedy.
39	* ''Amp'' (1996-2001): Rebranded "Amp 2.0" in it's later years.
40	* ''Series/TheAndyMilonakisShow'' (2005-07; season 1 was aired on MTV while the rest were aired on [=MTV2=])
41	* ''Series/{{Awkward}}'' (2011-16)
42	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bamimation}}'' (2008; failed {{pilot}})
43	* ''Series/TheBenStillerShow'' (1990): Precursor to the FOX series, ran for only 6 episodes.
44	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBrothersGrunt'' (1994-95)
45	* ''WesternAnimation/CartoonSushi'' (1997-98)
46	* ''Series/CatfishTheTVShow'' (2012-present)
47	* ''Series/CaughtInTheActUnfaithful'' (moved from Creator/{{VH1}})
48	* ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'' (1998-2002, 2006-07; the revival was aired on [=MTV2=])
49	* ''WesternAnimation/CloneHigh'' (2003-04)
50	* ''Series/ClubMTV'' (1987-92)
51	** ''Series/TheGrind'' (1992-97)
52	* ''Series/CrankYankers'' (2007; aired on [=MTV2=])
53	* ''Series/DeadAt21'' (1994)
54	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Deadtime Stories\|MTV}}'' (2003; failed pilot)
55	* ''Film/DemiLovatoStayStrong'' (2012)
56	* ''Series/DialMTV'' (1986-1991)
57	** ''WesternAnimation/MTVsMostWanted'' (1991-1996; replaced Dial MTV but kept the same format, with viewer voted polls added)
58	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Downtown}}'' (1999)
59	* ''Series/EyeCandy'' (2015)
60	* ''Series/FakingIt'' (2014-16)
61	* ''[[Series/MTVsFear Fear]]'' (2000-2002)
62	* ''Series/FindingCarter'' (2014-15)
63	* ''Series/GirlCode'' (2013-15; a revival was streamed on Snapchat in 2017)
64	* ''WesternAnimation/GoodVibes'' (2011)
65	* ''WesternAnimation/TheHead'' (1994-96)
66	* ''Series/HeadbangersBall'' (1987-95, 2003-12; the revival was aired on [=MTV2=])
67	* ''Series/{{Jackass}}'' (2000-02)
68	** ''Series/{{Wildboyz}}'' (2003-06; seasons 3 and 4 were aired on [=MTV2=])
69	** ''Series/VivaLaBam'' (2003-05)
70	* ''Series/JerseyShore'' (2009-12)
71	** ''Series/GeordieShore'' (2011-present; aired on MTV UK)
72	* ''Series/{{Kidnapped\|MTV}}'' (2002)
73	* ''Series/LagunaBeach'' (2004-06)
74	** ''Series/TheHills'' (2006-10)
75	* ''WesternAnimation/LiquidTelevision'' (1991-95; a revival was streamed online in 2014)
76	** ''WesternAnimation/AeonFlux'' (1991-92, 1995)
77	** ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'' (1993-97, 2011)
78	** ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' (1997-2002)
79	* ''Series/LoveAndHipHop Atlanta'' (2023, moved from Creator/{{VH1}})
80	* ''ComicBook/TheMaxx'' (1995)
81	* ''ComicStrip/MigraineBoy'' (1996)
82	* ''Series/MTVCouplesRetreat'' (previously known as ''VH1 Couples Retreat'', moved from Creator/{{VH1}})
83	* ''Series/MTVLive'' (1997-1998; merged with Total Request to become TRL in fall '98; MTV Canada version aired 2006-12)
84	* ''Series/MySuperSweetSixteen'' (2005-11, 2015, 2017)
85	* ''Series/NewlywedsNickAndJessica'' (2003-05)
86	* ''Series/ThePaper'' (2008)
87	* ''Series/PimpMyRide'' (2004-07)
88	* ''Series/PostModernMTV'' (1988-1990): Weeknight counterpart to 120 Minutes that included more mainstream (U2, INXS) alternative acts.
89	* ''Series/{{Punkd}}'' (2003-07, 2012; a revival was aired on Creator/{{BET}} in 2015)
90	* ''Series/TheRealWorld'' (1992-2017; a revival was streamed on Website/{{Facebook}} Watch in 2019)
91	** ''Series/RoadRules'' (1995-2004, 2007)
92	** ''Series/TheChallenge'' (1998-present)
93	* ''Series/RemoteControl'' (1987-90)
94	* ''Series/{{Ridiculousness}}'' (2011-present)
95	* ''Series/MTVRockumentary'' (1988-?)
96	* ''Series/RuPaulsDragRace'' (2022, moved from Creator/{{VH1}} and Creator/{{Logo}} TV previously)
97	* ''Series/ScreamTheTVSeries'' (2015-16; moved to Creator/{{VH1}} for its third season)
98	* ''Series/TheShannaraChronicles'' (2016; moved to [[Creator/SpikeTV Spike]] for its second season)
99	* ''Series/TheSiflAndOllyShow'' (1998-99)
100	* ''Series/SingledOut'' (1995-98; a revival was streamed on [=YouTube=] in 2018)
101	* ''Series/{{Skins}}'' (2011; the [[TransatlanticEquivalent American remake]])
102	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' (reruns on MTV UK)
103	* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheNewAnimatedSeries'' (2003)
104	* ''WesternAnimation/SpyGroove'' (2000-02)
105	* ''Series/{{Stankervision}}'' (2005-06; aired on [=MTV2=])
106	* ''Series/TheState'' (1993-95)
107	* ''WesternAnimation/StationZero'' (1999)
108	* ''Series/SweetVicious'' (2016-17)
109	* ''Series/TeenWolf'' (2011-17)
110	* ''Series/TheTomGreenShow'' (1999-2000)
111	* ''Series/TotalRequestLive'' (1998-2007, 2017-19): Started out as Total Request in the spring, before merging with MTV Live in the fall.
112	* ''Series/{{Trashed}}'' (1994)
113	* ''Series/TrueLife'' (1998-2017)
114	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Undergrads}}'' (2001)
115	* ''Series/{{Undressed}}'' (1999-2002)
116	* ''Series/WonderShowzen'' (2005-06; aired on [=MTV2=])
117	* ''Series/ZachStoneIsGonnaBeFamous'' (2013)
118	[[/index]]
119
120	!!MTV's sister networks (for the U.S at least) include
121	* [=MTV2=]: Initially focused on music videos, then became fixated on AlternativeRock and HipHop. [=MTV2=] now serves primarily as a sitcom repeat farm, with a particular focus on black sitcoms aimed at young adult men. The network also airs encores of [=MTV=] programming and formerly produced a small amount of original programming.
122	* [=MTVu=]: A channel that showcases [[AlternativeIndie indie rock]], PopPunk and hip-hop music videos and was usually seen on college campuses (with a few cable homes here and there.)
123	* MTV Live: An HD channel providing high quality music content. Originally known as Music: High Definition from 2006-2008, and later Palladia from 2008-2016. It is not to be confused with either the original American show (one of the precursors to ''TRL'') or [[Series/MTVLive the Canadian show]] of the same name.
124	* MTV Classic: Originally a throwback channel that featured older MTV programming and music videos, both primarily from the 1990s, but is now dedicated solely to the latter. Before 2016, it was [=VH1=] Classic, which focused on older music (and occasionally new music from classic artists) primarily from the 1970s and 1980s.
125	* MTV Hits: A spinoff that shows music videos exclusively, mostly pop artists. Rebranded as the teen-targeted [=NickMusic=] in October 2016.
126	* MTV Jams: Same as MTV Hits and U, but focusing on Urban-genre music. It replaced the rock-oriented MTVX and later became a Creator/{{BET}}-branded channel on October 5, 2015.
127	* [=Tr3s=]: An MTV spinoff focusing on Latino culture.
128	* Creator/VH1: Initially focused on older adults, then as a more video-oriented MTV, and then, most (in)famously, as a home for slightly less shallow nostalgia-based programming. Today, [=VH1=] is essentially an African American-centric general entertainment channel. Due to this, [=VH1=] moved to the BET Media Group in 2022, divorcing it from its sister network after almost 40 years (though both remain under the Paramount umbrella as such).
129	** [=VH1=] Soul: A channel mostly devoted to soul, R&B and funk music. The channel re-aligned itself with BET on December 28, 2015, renaming itself BET Soul.

Context Creator / MTV