After nearly four decades of shaping pop culture and serving as a musical touchstone for generations, MTV is set to close five of its music television channels in the United Kingdom at the end of this year. The move, which will see MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, and MTV Live (also referred to as Live HD) disappear from TV screens after December 31, 2025, marks the end of an era for the iconic broadcaster. The flagship MTV channel will remain, but its focus has shifted almost entirely to reality television, including shows like Geordie Shore and 16 & Pregnant.
MTV’s parent company, Paramount Global, reached an agreement with Skydance Media at the end of 2024 to close these channels in a sweeping cost-cutting and restructuring effort. The BBC reports that the decision reflects a seismic shift in viewing habits, as music fans now overwhelmingly turn to platforms like YouTube and social media for their music video fix rather than traditional television. According to The Sun and Daily Mail, the last air date for the closing channels will be New Year’s Eve, 2025.
The closures in the UK are not isolated. MTV’s music channels are also being axed in other regions, including Australia, Poland, France, Brazil, Asia, and Latin America, as Paramount seeks to trim as much as $500 million from its global portfolio. Paramount Television Studios, the company behind hits like Jack Ryan and The Spiderwick Chronicles, was shuttered in August 2025 as part of these sweeping changes. The cuts have also hit MTV’s UK production team, which was made redundant earlier this year amid what some insiders described as a “bloodbath” of layoffs. “To say there has been a bloodbath of cuts would be an understatement. Staff are in tears as some have been there for decades,” a source told Daily Mail.
MTV’s journey began in the United States in 1981 as the world’s first 24-hour music broadcaster. The channel quickly became a cultural juggernaut, offering a new way for fans to connect with their favorite artists and discover new music. It launched in the UK in 1997, kicking off with David Baddiel and Frank Skinner’s football anthem “Three Lions.” The channel was instrumental in launching the careers of several now-famous presenters, including Cat Deeley, Zane Lowe, Emma Willis, Greg James, and Kelly Brook. Former MTV VJ Simone Angel reminisced to BBC News about the channel’s early days, calling it “like being on a school trip without any teachers. We had so much fun.”
Angel also highlighted MTV’s influence beyond entertainment, recalling how former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev once told MTV’s boss that “music achieved more than missiles,” crediting MTV Europe with showing youth culture to people behind the Iron Curtain in the 1980s. “It went past all the propaganda and we showed youth culture, and people wanted that. It was incredibly important,” Angel said. She expressed sadness at the closures, saying, “We need to support these artists and we all need to dance again and listen to music. And I know we do that online in our own little bubbles, but MTV was the place where everything came together. So it really does break my heart.”
Yet, the writing has been on the wall for some time. In 2011, MTV UK’s main channel stopped airing music videos altogether, relegating music programming to its spin-off channels and focusing instead on reality TV and original series like Ex On The Beach and Teen Mom UK. The annual MTV European Music Awards, famous for moments like the Spice Girls’ final performance before their 2000 split and Rita Ora’s emotional tribute to Liam Payne in 2024, is currently on pause as Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media takes shape. No decision has been made about the future of the EMAs, which were put on ice earlier this year.
Industry insiders and former staffers have not minced words about what these changes mean. “It’s a dark day for the music industry. MTV was once an industry powerhouse but now is a total shell of its former self,” a source told The Sun. “All channels bar the main MTV station are being axed—but even that only airs reality TV shows like Geordie Shore.”
The decline of MTV’s music channels is a microcosm of broader trends in media consumption. According to Ofcom, 2023 saw the biggest drop in UK TV viewership since records began. Weekly TV watching fell from 83% of the population in 2021 to 79% in 2022, while daily TV watch time dropped from two hours and 59 minutes to just two hours and 38 minutes. The rise of streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime has fundamentally changed how audiences access entertainment, and traditional broadcasters have struggled to keep pace.
Even as viewership waned, MTV’s music channels continued to attract modest audiences. Barb’s latest ratings show that in July 2025, MTV Music had 1.3 million UK viewers, while MTV 90s drew 949,000. Nevertheless, these numbers pale in comparison to the channel’s heyday, when MTV Europe boasted between 100 and 150 million viewers worldwide, according to Simone Angel.
MTV’s legacy is undeniable. It not only defined the visual language of pop music for a generation but also provided a launchpad for countless artists and TV personalities. Its influence was so profound that, as Angel pointed out, it was “the most widespread TV channel in the world at that point.” The channel’s shift from music to reality TV has been met with disappointment from many longtime fans and industry observers. “It’s not thrown away, but it’s just reality TV. That’s not what MTV is or should be,” Angel lamented to BBC News.
Despite the closures, MTV will maintain a presence in the UK through its flagship channel and digital platforms. Fans can still access global music events like the MTV VMAs and digital music content via Paramount+ and MTV’s social media channels. However, the days of flipping through a lineup of dedicated music video channels are coming to an end.
The transformation of MTV reflects not just a changing media landscape, but also a shift in how music and youth culture are consumed and shared. As streaming continues to dominate and traditional TV faces mounting challenges, the closure of MTV’s UK music channels stands as a poignant symbol of an industry—and an era—in transition.
