MTV SHUTS DOWN SEVERAL MUSIC CHANNELS

PEOPLE

 

Is MTV Shutting Down? Everything to Know About the Channels Going Off the Air

On Dec. 31, 2025, the network shut down a number of its music-only channels

By Charlotte Walsh  Published on January 1, 2026 02:13PM EST

 

It's the end of an era at MTV.

 

On Dec. 31, 2025, the network shut down several music-only channels, ending decades of 24-hour music broadcasting. MTV first announced the move back in October, per Rolling Stone.

 

MTV first launched in the United States on Aug. 1, 1981. The first video it aired was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles — which was also the final clip that MTV Music played on Dec. 31.

 

"While it's a bit sad, it's been a bit sad for a while. I think MTV had its time and history that time will never repeat, and it's time to change," former MTV DJ Daisy Fuentes told PEOPLE in October 2025. "We all change. We have to evolve. And I hope that there's another version of them, just like there's another version of us, us who were part of that we're no longer the same. Why should we expect them to be? The world has changed so much."

 

So, is MTV shutting down for good? Here's everything to know about the channels that are going off the air.

 

Is MTV shutting down?

 

No, MTV isn't shutting down altogether. However, the network axed a number of its dedicated music channels from airwaves at the end of 2025.

 

MTV's flagship channels will continue to air regularly scheduled programming, including franchises like The Challenge and RuPaul's Drag Race. Per Variety, MTV is 2025's 49th most-popular cable network, coming in front of Comedy Central.

 

Which MTV channels have gone off the air?

View, from left, of Rock musicians the Edge (born David Howell Evans) and Bono (born Paul David Hewson), both of the group U2, and MTV VJ Alan Hunter, as they sit in director's chairs during an interview on MTV at Teletronic Studios, New York, New York, April 21, 1983.

 

MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live went off the air in various countries on Dec. 31. The United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Australia and Brazil were impacted, according to the BBC.

 

Each channel aired a different video in its final moments. MTV Music played "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles, while MTV 90s aired the Spice Girls' "Goodbye."

 

Viewers who now try to tune in to these channels will see a scene cycling through the affected channel's logos. A chyron notes that fans can access MTV content on the main channel, MTV HD.

 

Why is MTV shutting down its music-only channels?

MTV Logo is seen onstage during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on August 30, 2015 in Los Angeles, California

 

Neither MTV nor its parent company, Paramount, has not commented on its reasoning for shutting down several of its channels dedicated to music programming, per Rolling Stone.

 

This isn't the first time that the network has slashed programming. Earlier in the year, MTV paused several awards shows — including the MTV Europe Music Awards and MTV Latin America’s MIAW Awards. The move came amid cost-cutting measures during Paramount's $8 billion merger with Skydance, which was completed in August 2025, according to the Associated Press.

 

In May 2023, the network's news division, MTV News, was shut down after 36 years amid "pressure from broader economic headwinds," per Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks president Chris McCarthy.