# MTV - what does the M really stand for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141 "2003-03-17T23:23:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/21 "2003-03-18T19:15:56Z")
Mostly. As in **M** ostly **T** errible **V** ideos. Many thanks to Playboy Magazine (_circa_ 1984) for that one. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/22 "2003-03-18T19:52:39Z")
I actually like the shows now better than the videos. If I want videos, that’s what MTV2 is for. No network, other than MTV, puts youth-centered shows at the center of their programming. Sure TRL sucks, but Diary is interesting, True Life makes good documentaries, MTV Made is really good, etc. This rant is just so tired. ---
**Author:** ![Intaglio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71e660/32.png) [@Intaglio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intaglio)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/23 "2003-03-18T21:13:06Z")
M = Michael as in Jackson. MTV and VH1 SUCKS - no videos just shows the majority of time. The other day VH1 was showing Naked Gun, I’m like WTF does this have to do with music and then it dawned on me that Priscilla Presley is in it, makes perfect sense - she is in Music right, oh yeah was married to Elvis. Oh and how about Lisa Marie’s foray into Music - Honey go back to Graceland and manage Daddy’s money, cause you Suck as a singer/songwriter, you may have some of the King’s chromosomes, but you shouldn’t be in the BIZ. ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/24 "2003-03-18T21:32:56Z")
**M** uthaf\*ckin’? I think that’s what they’re bleeping out when I pass by. ---
**Author:** ![LabRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/898d66/32.png) [@LabRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LabRat)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/25 "2003-03-18T23:12:13Z")
**M** ammary. I can’t believe nobody used that one yet… ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/26 "2003-03-19T00:23:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SmackFu \* > \*\*I actually like the shows now better than the videos. If I want videos, that’s what MTV2 is for. No network, other than MTV, puts youth-centered shows at the center of their programming. Sure TRL sucks, but Diary is interesting, True Life makes good documentaries, MTV Made is really good, etc. > > This rant is just so tired. \*\* I really miss M2, it’s been nearly 4 years since I’ve seen it ☹ Despite frequent begging, our cable company won’t carry M2. 50 freakin sports channels, but you can’t get anything but MTV or VH1 even with the complete digital package! Metrocast butt monkeys… ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/27 "2003-03-19T01:46:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfkin477 \* > \*\*I really miss M2, it’s been nearly 4 years since I’ve seen it ☹ Despite frequent begging, our cable company won’t carry M2. 50 freakin sports channels, but you can’t get anything but MTV or VH1 even with the complete digital package! Metrocast butt monkeys… \*\* Bwaa-ha-ha… It’s gloating time. I don’t have cable on my personal tv, but I still get MTV2! It’s craaazy! Dial M for Murder. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/28 "2003-03-19T04:42:22Z")
At risk of sounding like an old man, in high school I saw MTV go live with “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles. During MTV’s first couple of years, the channel was essentially a video radio station, with a hard rock/new wave format. Imagine flipping on MTV and seeing videos by Rush, Supertramp, Devo, Pat Benatar and Journey. No rap, no MTV News, no Ten Spot, no regular series. MTV went downhill when they started playing rap videos, IMHO. The first series were game shows. That was followed by “The Real World,” which was actually pretty cool when it first aired. In the late 1980s, MTV became something of a college student lifestyle network; in the early 1990s, MTV made another shift to appeal to the burgeoning “extreme” crowd. At one time, the “M” did stand for “music.” Below the MTV logo , with the astronaut holding a flag that would change colors in the background, you could see the words “Music Television” I think the meaning of the acronym is now lost, just like those of ESPN, C-SPAN and CNN. ---
**Author:** ![HeatMiser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecd19e/32.png) [@HeatMiser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeatMiser)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/29 "2003-03-19T04:51:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gwendee \* > \*\*Lewis Black said (in one of two 1/2 hour specials I’ve seen recently) MTV is to Music what KFC is to Chicken. \*\* The critical difference being, IMHO, that KFC actually continues to serve chicken. On another subtopic - thinking back on the history of the channel anf the changing times, it seems like the content has, to some extent, evolved to match the tastes of the current demographic most likely to sit around stoned watching it. ---
**Author:** ![dogchow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e495f1/32.png) [@dogchow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogchow)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/30 "2003-03-19T07:48:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gorsnak \* > \*\*M is for Mindless \*\* Grrr! You beat me to it! I’m sorry **Boo Foo Foo** , but banning the sale of CDs to the under 18 crowd won’t work. For starters, high schoolers are cheap. Yeah, we might like bad music, but it’s not like we’re gonna actually _pay_ for it when you can download the mp3. The kids buying the CDs are middle schoolers (who are, by the way, the industry’s major demographic). And usually it’s not the kids that are buying the CDs, it’s their PARENTS. The kids want to be cool,and if whining until ol’ Mom and Dad buy you Britney Spears’ new CD makes you cool, so be it. Of course, by sophomore year it’s cool to want to kill Britney, but by then the label’s made their money and they’re happy. (Those of us with brains were listening to better stuff in the first place, though not necessarily paying for it. I don’t know where I’d be without my trusty CD burner) ---
**Author:** ![Skid\_Row](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/779978/32.png) [@Skid\_Row](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skid_Row)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/31 "2003-03-19T11:22:32Z")
I thought the M stood for **M** usic. But hey, that’s just me, Mr. Vegas… (Jebus, they suck now. I want my MTV back!) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/32 "2003-03-19T14:51:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elmwood \* > I think the meaning of the acronym is now lost, just like those of ESPN, C-SPAN and CNN. [Let’s not get that started again.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=713982#post713982) ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/33 "2003-03-19T15:00:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AchimbaProphet \* > \*\*Mundane TV. > > Thank God for VH1 now that I am old enough to watch it 🙂 \*\* VH1 loses some of my respect each time a video by J. Lo reaches the #1 position of their countdown… and stays there for weeks!! I must give it to her, she must have some good fans. Somehow I thought that VH1 would air different music than MTV, but they now seem to show the same stuff. PD. VH1 also shows videos from about 2am until 7 or 10am. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/34 "2003-03-19T15:04:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Intaglio \* > \*\* > Oh and how about Lisa Marie’s foray into Music - Honey go back to Graceland and manage Daddy’s money, cause you Suck as a singer/songwriter, you may have some of the King’s chromosomes, but you shouldn’t be in the BIZ. \*\* She was in the Top 10 videos last weekend, beating ones by India.Arie, Coldplay, and others. ---
**Author:** ![Intaglio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71e660/32.png) [@Intaglio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intaglio)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/35 "2003-03-19T17:58:22Z")
SO - She Still Sucks, I could out sing her ASS, and I have Talent. ---
**Author:** ![Intaglio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71e660/32.png) [@Intaglio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intaglio)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/36 "2003-03-19T18:10:03Z")
Oh, I Forgot I don’t have a Name, I’m just a Regular Person with a Real Talent for Singing. ---
**Author:** ![Gravity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gravity/32/14322_2.png) [@Gravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gravity)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/37 "2003-03-19T18:35:55Z")
**M** is for **More** , of course. Isn’t that what we need? _More_ television? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/38 "2003-03-19T20:54:54Z")
Given that MTV’s product is, in many ways, itself (c.f. “The Osbournes”), I say the M in MTV stands for MTV. In other words, “MTV Television.” Or MTVTV. Which is the same as MTVTVTV. Which is… My head hurts. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/39 "2003-03-19T23:45:47Z")
I’m not saying she doesn’t suck, I gave her as an example of what is wrong with VH1. 🙂 I prefer India.Arie and Colplay’s videos much more than hers. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141/40 "2003-03-20T00:10:27Z")
**M** ediocrity. Or as was said in the last episode of “Daria”: Daria: “We’ll make way for what’s new on MTV.” Jane: “Shows about teens talking about sex, during sex.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mtv-what-does-the-m-really-stand-for/162141.md?page=3)