Paramount is shutting down five of its European music video channels by the end of 2025, a move as first reported by BBC News, signaling a definitive pivot from music television to reality programming and its Paramount+ streaming service.
The final cut: The discontinued networks include MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, and MTV Live. The flagship MTV channel will survive the culling, but its schedule will remain dedicated to its current slate of unscripted reality shows, leaving the music videos that once defined the brand to its archives.
Killed by the algorithm: The decision is a formal admission of what has been clear for years: viewers have abandoned scheduled broadcasts for on-demand platforms like YouTube and TikTok. In an era where any song is available instantly, the model of waiting for a video to air has been rendered obsolete by the algorithm.
When MTV launched in 1981 with The Buggles' prophetic anthem "Video Killed the Radio Star," it transformed music into a visual medium. Now, 44 years later, the brand is finally conceding that the internet killed the video star's original home. While the era of music television is ending, Paramount will keep the MTV brand alive through its signature live events, such as the VMAs and EMAs.
