02.01.2026 12:16
For 44 years, MTV has shaped the world music culture, but due to the shift in viewer habits towards digital platforms, it has closed its thematic music channels in Europe, Asia, and Turkey. While the MTV brand continues with reality shows and series instead of music content, music content is being moved to digital platforms.
Once at the center of popular culture and shaping the music world, the television network MTV has ceased the broadcast of its thematic music channels as of yesterday, in line with its "strategic restructuring decision."
THE ERA OF MUSIC-FOCUSED TELEVISION HAS ENDED
The network, operating under Paramount Global, has closed the "music-focused television" era across a wide geography including Europe, Asia, and Turkey due to the shift in viewer habits towards digital platforms and the decline of traditional cable broadcasting.
Among the closed channels are platforms like MTV 80s, MTV 90s, MTV 00s, MTV Music 24, Club MTV, and MTV Live, which have been broadcasting nostalgia and current hit music for years. These channels were removed from satellite and cable TV packages as of the morning of January 1, 2026. According to company sources and experts speaking to the press, this decision does not mean that "the MTV brand has completely ended." According to the British media, the main brand MTV will continue to broadcast, but its content will no longer consist of music videos. The channel will continue its programming with reality shows, series, and entertainment programs. Music content will now continue through digital platforms and social media instead of television screens.
THE END OF THE MTV ERA FOR TURKEY
For viewers in Turkey, this situation means the end of the era of music channels on the television remote. Channels branded with the MTV logo, which were accessible through local platforms and broadcasted music videos 24/7, will now be closed to access or will be replaced by digital platform content.
THE CHANNEL CLOSED WITH THE CLIP IT OPENED WITH
The channel, which began its broadcasting life in 1981 with The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" clip, also bid farewell to broadcasting with this clip. MTV had been the most powerful promotional medium in the music industry for over 40 years. Officials stated that "the habit of watching music videos on television has ended with the rise of social media platforms" and expressed that "this closure was an expected outcome."
The MTV brand will continue to exist through major organizations such as the Video Music Awards (VMA) and the European Music Awards (EMA).