MTV to pull music channels in the UK and Ireland after nearly 40 years

MTV will cease broadcasting its 24-hour music channels in the UK and Ireland at the end of 2025. 

The US broadcaster will axe five channels in the UK and Ireland from December 31, 2025: MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live. 

Those channels will also cease broadcasting in Germany, France, Austria, Poland, Australia and Brazil at a later date. 

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MTV HD, which broadcasts shows such as Catfish, The Hills, Geordie Shore and Teen Mom, will continue to run programming as normal after December 31.

According to BBC News, the move comes amidst widespread cost-cutting measures currently being implemented by MTV's parent company Paramount, who are seeking to save around $500 million (£376m) across the business ahead of an $8 million merger with Skydance Media.

Widely regarded as the world's 'first-ever' 24-hour music channel, MTV helped popularise music videos as a format from its launch in 1981; famously the first music video broadcast on MTV was The Buggles' 'Video Killed the Radio Star'. 

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MTV launched its first 24-hour music channel outside of the US, MTV Global, in London in August 1987. The first broadcast showed Elton John turning on the signal in Amsterdam, followed by the music video for Dire Straits' 'Money for Nothing'.

While the move has been credited towards changing habits in music consumption, as music videos appear more regularly on YouTube and other social media sites, MTV Music still attracted over 1.3 million viewers in the UK in July, according to statistics from Barb. 

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter