Did MTV Shut Down on New Year’s Eve? The Truth Is Messier, but More Interesting

The phrase "the end of an era" is tossed around frequently these days, but New Year's Eve truly marked the end of an era when it came to MTV. All of MTV's 24-hour music channels have been shut down, including MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, and MTV Live. Contrary to what fans on the internet have been saying, this doesn't meant the end of MTV itself. The main MTV channel will still continue to operate, though its programming will vary wildly — and veer far, far away from what made MTV the culture-defining juggernaut it originally started out as.

MTV's full shift away from music programming came in October 2025, when it was announced that the UK was shutting down five auxiliary channels. The fact that most of those channels happened to still play music videos was a warning sign, both to fans who grew up with MTV since its inception and to those who work in the music industry. Having very little music-themed programming on a channel that's called "Music Television" is a sign of how much corporate mergers and shifts in culture have changed MTV, and not necessarily for the better.

MTV's Shift in Programming Reflects Its Ever-Changing History

Looking at MTV's programming, it's pretty clear that there's been a major shift over the years. Where there was once a balance of music-themed programming and scripted content, today the focus is mostly on reality TV. You're more likely to tune in and see a Ridiculousness or RuPaul's Drag Race marathon rather than any new music from Chappell Roan or Sabrina Carpenter, yet it's also reflective of the change that the channel's gone through over the years. When popular shows like Beavis and Butt-Head and Jackass first made their debut, viewers would often mention how MTV had changed for the worst, and so forth.

The shutdown of MTV's music channels does feel like a major change, particularly as it comes with the merger of Paramount and Skydance. Under new studio chief David Ellison, Paramount has made massive changes to its film and television landscape, from developing a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie to radically reshaping CBS's news network. MTV is part of those changes, as the advent of social media and streaming means there are new avenues to listen to music, while reality TV remains one of the few programming ventures that still draws in an audience during a time when cord cutting is happening faster than ever.

Despite Sensational Headlines, MTV is Still Alive

While MTV is still running, most people assumed that the shutdown of its music channels meant the end of the channel itself. In a piece for Esquire, Dave Holmes pointed out how the channel isn't as dead as people believe it to be, and cited how it was an example of sensational headlines winning out over the actual news. It also wouldn't make sense to fully shut down MTV, as reports have it as one of the most popular cable networks in the world. The reactions are probably due to the music-based channels shutting down, which means that a piece of someone's childhood went with them. Former MTV DJ Daisy Fuentes eloquently summed up these feelings when talking to People last year:

"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...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."

The shutdown of MTV's music channels doesn't mean the end of MTV. It does, however, mark a major change in both MTV's history and pop culture as we know it. In a rather fitting moment, the last video that MTV Music aired was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles, which ironically kicked off MTV as we know it and shows just how far the network's come.