# After 44 Years, MTV Is Officially Dead \[outside North America\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2026, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242 "2026-01-01T13:51:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/21 "2026-01-01T18:17:15Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Those VJ’s talk wayyyy too much on Sirius. EVERYONE talks too much on Sirius. For me the right amoiunt is zero. I miss VH1 pop up videos. I wonder if they are on youtube. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/22 "2026-01-01T18:23:22Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Those VJ’s talk wayyyy too much on Sirius. Introduce the song and STFU. I don’t care what happened to the singer from Big Country. Play the music I paid for. SXM tries to make the “80s on 8” channel feel like watching (well, listening to) MTV back in the day, in the same way that they try to make the '70s and '60s channels sound like listening to a top-40 radio station from those eras, and “Classic Vinyl” and “Classic Rewind” are meant to feel like listening to classic rock radio stations. So, yeah, yappy DJs. If you have the app, rather than listening on a radio, they offer a bunch of channels which have essentially the same music as the main satellite channels, but no DJs. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/23 "2026-01-01T18:24:31Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > Empty-V is gone just now? Not gone-gone, as noted, but that they finally killed off their secondary music-only channels. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/24 "2026-01-01T18:27:55Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Uh, is VH-1 doing any music? Today, it looks like they’re running a _Fresh Prince of Bel-Air_ marathon. Generally, it looks like they’re mostly, if not entirely, reality TV. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/25 "2026-01-01T18:41:59Z")
I missed the opening video, and probably the whole opening day — but I am absolutely positive I started watching MTV during its first month (August 1981), because I told my sixth-grade friends about this weird new thing on my cable TV, during the first day of class in early September that year. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/26 "2026-01-01T18:54:21Z")
It started in some New Jersey neighborhoods on opening day. Although it started on August 1st, 1983 in that limited and localized market, it didn’t go national until January 22nd, 1983. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/27 "2026-01-01T18:56:21Z")
In the Los Angeles market almost all of the independent TV channels had video shows circa 1979-83. They all had their own flavors and hosts (mostly moonlighting radio DJs). Some were after school; others were late night. I would watch them with the corded remote to my VCR so I can make my own video playlists. When MTV came along, those local shows started to disappear. I refused to sit through endless Michael Jackson and Madonna videos with the faint hope of seeing the bands my favorite DJs played, so I was never a fan of MTV. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/28 "2026-01-01T19:01:20Z")
Good to know. It was absolutely, 100% on my cable TV in the northern suburbs of New York City in August 1981. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/29 "2026-01-01T19:01:39Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Although it started on August 1st, 1983 1981 based on Wikipedia. I distinctly remember watching it when it was new when cable came to my area during my senior year of high school and I was Class of 1982. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/30 "2026-01-01T19:03:07Z")
Misprint on my part-it didn’t go fully national until '83. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/31 "2026-01-01T19:04:35Z")
I was born in 63 so I know that’s not true 🙂 I watched it in Los Angeles in 1982 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/32 "2026-01-01T19:05:55Z")
I’m just misprinting all over the damn place. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/33 "2026-01-01T19:06:53Z")
You need the original story in the _Rolling Stone_ for the complete details. > **[MTV's Music-Only Channels Are Officially Going Dark](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/mtv-music-only-channels-off-air-1235492854/)** > > Many of MTV's last 24-hour music channels around the world are set to stop broadcasting after today, Dec. 31, 2025. Note the subheadline: > The decision will affect a slate of channels in the U.K., as well as some in Australia, Poland, France, and Brazil [For now, MTV channels in the United States and Canada are not impacted, although the company’s executive board has said they will be analyzing those channels in the future.](https://www.10news.com/news/fact-or-fiction/fact-or-fiction-mtv-shutting-down-after-40-years) ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/34 "2026-01-01T19:06:55Z")
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan were the first live act on MTV back in 63. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/35 "2026-01-01T19:10:59Z")
No, it was Beethoven, conducting his own Ninth Symphony. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/36 "2026-01-01T19:11:26Z")
Which was astounding since the Beatles didn’t meet Ed until 1964. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/37 "2026-01-01T19:14:53Z")
Well… can the mods change the title to: Officially Dead outside the US? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/38 "2026-01-01T19:15:06Z")
I guess after all, we finally reached the point where too much is enough. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/39 "2026-01-01T19:16:27Z")
Already flagged for a title change; “outside the US and Canada” or “outside North America” would be the most accurate. Apologies if I seem brusque; I’ve been [dealing with this misinformation](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:MTV&diff=prev&oldid=1327898169) on [the Wikipedia page.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV#Termination_of_music_programming) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2026, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242/40 "2026-01-01T19:28:08Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Stations ended the transmission with the song that started all: Did they? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-44-years-mtv-is-officially-dead-outside-north-america/1026242.md?page=3)