# Does MTV matter any more? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mtv-matter-any-more/404072 "2007-05-14T18:39:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mtv-matter-any-more/404072/1 "2007-05-14T18:39:54Z")
Does anyone look to MTV any more as having anything to say about the subject of cool? Do musicians, record companies, entertainment industry people, the media or people in general look to MTV now the way they did back in the day? ---
**Author:** ![wasson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/4da419/32.png) [@wasson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wasson)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mtv-matter-any-more/404072/2 "2007-05-14T18:58:40Z")
I hope not. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mtv-matter-any-more/404072/3 "2007-05-14T19:20:48Z")
Did it ever? ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mtv-matter-any-more/404072/4 "2007-05-14T19:23:25Z")
MTV stopped mattering around 1985, I think. Isn’t that when they started getting away from having videos and having talk shows? (I believe the channel jumped the shark LONG before The Real World) ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mtv-matter-any-more/404072/5 "2007-05-14T19:36:02Z")
[QUOTE=DudleyGarrett] MTV stopped mattering around 1985, I think. Isn’t that when they started getting away from having videos and having talk shows? (I believe the channel jumped the shark LONG before The Real World) [/QUOTE] MTV jumped as soon as Martha Quinn left. You can’t even compare MTV now to MTV back in the day, because they aren’t even the same channel anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mtv-matter-any-more/404072/6 "2007-05-14T19:39:20Z")
You can’t compare MTV then-to-now, like **Nutty Bunny** said. I’m pretty sure I know about when the shift happened, and it happened in stages. There was the original flavor of MTV, and then it changed when Michael Jackson got huge. It changed again in the mid 90’s (grunge–\>boy bands–\>heavily commercialized hip hop) and then, shifted again more recently to where it shouldn’t even be called “Music Television” anymore. It should be “Music and Entertainment”. ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mtv-matter-any-more/404072/7 "2007-05-14T19:54:38Z")
[QUOTE=Subterraneanus] Did it ever? [/QUOTE] Of course it did. And, I would imagine, still does to its traget audience. The awards shows are still important enough to draw both street cred cult-figure presenters and generally popular entertainers. Isn’t Sarah Silverman hosting the movie awards this year? As far as setting trends…maybe not so much. And yeah, while MTV may have “jumped the shark” (and I swear to God, that term has so outstayed its welcome) before **Real World** , there’s no denying how influential and important that program was. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mtv-matter-any-more/404072/8 "2007-05-14T19:56:22Z")
I think it tanked with the popularity of reality shows, like The Real World and Road Rules. I think rock videos should be available like tap water, not just for a few hours between 3 and 5 am. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mtv-matter-any-more/404072/9 "2007-05-14T19:56:36Z")
The Real World was one of the big, influential shows of our generation. You can argue that it started the reality TV trend we see everywhere today. For that reason alone, I’m not so sure I’d say that MTV jumped before The Real World. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mtv-matter-any-more/404072/10 "2007-05-14T20:03:40Z")
[QUOTE=DudleyGarrett] MTV stopped mattering around 1985, I think. Isn’t that when they started getting away from having videos and having talk shows? (I believe the channel jumped the shark LONG before The Real World) [/QUOTE] Remeber Remote Control. If you want music videos (MTV does still do them in the morning), check out VH1 Classic. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mtv-matter-any-more/404072/11 "2007-05-14T20:06:46Z")
in defense of Remote Control, at least that was a gameshow ABOUT music videos. What did Singled Out have to do with music? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mtv-matter-any-more/404072/12 "2007-05-14T20:11:29Z")
[QUOTE=fusoya] in defense of Remote Control, at least that was a gameshow ABOUT music videos. What did Singled Out have to do with music? [/QUOTE] Nothing. But it had Jenny McCarthy and Carmen Electra. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mtv-matter-any-more/404072/13 "2007-05-14T20:40:59Z")
[QUOTE=ArizonaTeach] Of course it did. And, I would imagine, still does to its traget audience. The awards shows are still important enough to draw both street cred cult-figure presenters and generally popular entertainers. Isn’t Sarah Silverman hosting the movie awards this year? As far as setting trends…maybe not so much. And yeah, while MTV may have “jumped the shark” (and I swear to God, that term has so outstayed its welcome) before **Real World** , there’s no denying how influential and important that program was. [/QUOTE] It’s always been teenybopper TV. If that’s what cool is, I’m not interested. It’s always been about music that appeals to the widest possible audience, which means it tends to get it right only by accident. I remember seeing MTV in late-'82, and as far as I was (and am) concerned it was born on the far side of the shark. OK, I did like _Beavis and Butt-Head_. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-mtv-matter-any-more/404072/14 "2007-05-14T21:23:36Z")
MTV was definitely relevent late '80s to mid '90s. I’d have to say it peaked around the first year grunge came around, because then it catered to huge diverse audience, Yo MTV Raps, Headbangers Ball, 120 Minutes were all popular, as well as their best lineup of shows - Liquid TV, Beavis and Butt Head, The State, Real World, I think that period was their best mix of music and entertainment.