MTV

MTV (Music Television) is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on August 1, 1981, the original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs.^[1] Today, MTV still plays a limited selection of music videos, but the channel primarily broadcasts a variety of pop culture and reality television shows targeted at adolescents and young adults.

Since its premiere, MTV has revolutionized the music industry. Slogans such as "I want my MTV" became embedded in public thought, the concept of the VJ was popularized, the idea of a dedicated video-based outlet for music was introduced, and both artists and fans found a central location for music events, news, and promotion. MTV has also been referenced countless times in popular culture by musicians, other TV channels and shows, films and books.

MTV has spawned numerous sister channels in the U.S. and affiliated channels internationally. MTV's moral influence on young people, including examples of censorship and social activism, has been a subject of debate for years. MTV's choice to focus on non-music programming has also been contested relentlessly since the 1990s, demonstrating the channel's impact on popular culture.

The launch of MTV

Numerous events led to the debut of MTV: Music Television in 1981, which itself was remembered through reintroduction as a historic moment in music and popular culture. After MTV's debut, other networks took notice and launched similar projects. This section outlines the conceptual history of MTV, the day of its initial launch on August 1, 1981, and the imitators that followed.

Previous concepts

MTV's pre-history began in 1975, when Warner Cable (a division of Warner Communications, and an ancestor of WASEC, Warner Satellite Entertainment Company) launched the first two-way interactive cable TV system, Qube, in Columbus, Ohio.

The Qube system offered many specialized channels, including a children's channel called Pinwheel which would later become Nickelodeon. One of these specialized channels was Sight On Sound, a music channel that featured concert footage and music oriented TV programs; with the interactive Qube service, viewers could vote for their favorite songs and artists.

MTV's programming format was created by the visionary media executive, Robert W. Pittman, who later became president and chief executive officer of MTV Networks.^[2] Pittman had test driven the music format by producing and hosting a 15 minute show, Album Tracks, on WNBC, New York, in the late 1970s. Pittman's boss, WASEC Executive Vice President John Lack,^[3] had shepherded a TV series called PopClips, created by former Monkee-turned solo artist Michael Nesmith, the latter of whom by the late 1970s was turning his attention to the music video format.^[4]

In the book The Mason Williams FCC Rapport, author Mason Williams states that he pitched an idea to CBS for a TV show that featured "video-radio" where disc jockeys would play avant-garde art set to music on the air. CBS quashed the idea, but Williams premiered his own musical composition "Classical Gas" on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, where he was head writer. The book in which this claim is made was first published in 1971, ten years before MTV first came on the air.

Music Television debuts

Further information: First music videos aired on MTV

On August 1, 1981, at 12:01 a.m., MTV: Music Television launched with the words "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll," spoken by John Lack. Those words were immediately followed by the original MTV theme song, a crunching guitar riff written by Jonathan Elias and John Petersen, playing over a montage of the Apollo 11 moon landing. MTV producers Alan Goodman and Fred Seibert used this public domain footage as a conceit, associating MTV with the most famous moment in world television history.^[5] At the moment of its launch, only a few thousand people on a single cable system in northern New Jersey could see it.^[6]

Appropriately, the first music video shown on MTV was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles. The second video shown was Pat Benatar's "You Better Run". Sporadically, the screen would go black when an employee at MTV inserted a tape into a VCR.^[7]

As programming chief, Robert W. Pittman recruited and managed a stellar team for the launch that included Tom Freston (who succeeded Pittman as CEO of MTV networks), Fred Seibert, John Sykes, Judy McGrath (currently the CEO of MTV Networks), and Robert Morton.

Following concepts

HBO also had a 30 minute program of music videos, called Video Jukebox, that first aired around the time of MTV's launch and would last until late 1986. Also around this time, HBO would occasionally play one or a few music videos between movies.

SuperStation WTBS launched Night Tracks on June 3, 1983, with up to 14 hours of music video airplay each late night weekend by 1985. Its most noticeable difference was that black artists received airplay that MTV initially ignored. The program ran until the end of May 1992. A few markets also launched music-only channels; most notably Las Vegas' KVMY Channel 21, which debuted in the summer of 1984 as KRLR-TV Vusic 21. The first video played on that channel was Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

Shortly after TBS began Night Tracks, NBC launched its music video program called Friday Night Videos which was considered network television's answer to MTV. Later renamed simply Friday Night, the program ran from 1983 to 2002, at which time it was replaced by other programming.

Music videos on MTV

The original purpose of MTV was to be "Music Television," playing music videos 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, guided by on-air personalities known as VJs, or video jockeys. The original taglines of the channel were "You'll never look at music the same way again," and "On cable. In stereo." Although the concept of playing music videos 24/7 has been long abandoned, MTV still promotes and plays a limited selection of music videos on its TV channel and web site. This section outlines the history of music videos as featured on MTV.

Original VJs and format

Further information: List of MTV VJs

MTV's early format was modeled after top 40 radio. Fresh-faced young men and women were hired to host the network's programming and to introduce videos that were being played. The term VJ (video jockey) was coined, a play on the initialism DJ (disc jockey). Many VJs eventually became celebrities in their own right. The original five MTV VJs in 1981 were Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, J. J. Jackson and Martha Quinn. In 2005, this group (except for J. J. Jackson, who died in 2004) became hosts on Sirius Satellite Radio.^[8]

The early music videos that made up the bulk of MTV's programming in the 1980s were often crude promotional or concert clips from whatever sources could be found. As the popularity of the channel rose, and record companies recognized the potential of the medium as a tool to gain recognition and publicity, they began to create increasingly elaborate clips specifically for the channel.

A large number of rock bands and performers of the 1980s were made popular by MTV. Such acts ranged from new wave to hard rock or heavy metal bands^[9] as Adam Ant, Eurythmics,^[10] Culture Club,^[11] The Fixx, Split Enz, Prince, Ultravox, Duran Duran,^[12] Van Halen,^[13] Bon Jovi, RATT,^[14] Def Leppard,^[15] The Police, and The Cars. The network also rotated the videos of "Weird Al" Yankovic, who made a career out of parodying other artists' videos.^[16]

MTV also played some classic rock acts from the 1980s and earlier decades including David Bowie, Journey, John Mellencamp, Billy Joel, Genesis, Hall & Oates, Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart and ZZ Top and forgotten acts such as Michael Stanley Band, Shoes, Blotto and Taxxi. The hard rock band Kiss publicly appeared without their trademark makeup for the first time on MTV in 1983.

Breaking the color barrier

During MTV's first few years on the air, very few black artists were included in rotation on the channel. Those who were in MTV's rotation included Eddy Grant, Tina Turner and Donna Summer. MTV rejected other black artists' videos, such as Rick James' "Super Freak," because they didn't fit the channel's rock dominated format at the time. The exclusion enraged James; he publicly advocated the addition of more black artists' videos on the channel. Rock legend David Bowie questioned MTV's lack of black artists in an interview with VJ Mark Goodman in 1983.^[17]

Before 1983, Michael Jackson also struggled to receive airtime on MTV because he was a black artist.^[18] To resolve the struggle and finally "break the color barrier", the president of CBS Records at the time, Walter Yetnikoff, denounced MTV in a strong, profane statement, threatening to take away MTV's ability to play any of the record label's music videos.^[18][19] MTV began showing "Billie Jean" in regular rotation, forming a lengthy partnership with Jackson and helping other black music artists,^[20] but Les Garland, who co-founded the network, says he made the call to air the video without pressure from CBS.^[21]

According to The Austin Chronicle, Jackson's video for the song "Billie Jean" was "the video that broke the color barrier, even though the channel itself was responsible for erecting that barrier in the first place."^[22] After airing Jackson's music videos, MTV, then a struggling cable channel, became very popular. Jackson's videos were credited for this success^[23] and MTV's focus switched from rock to pop and R&B.^[24] This move helped other black artists such as Prince and Whitney Houston break into heavy rotation on the channel.

Other early criticism

Further information: Criticism of MTV

As early as 1983, because of MTV's visibility as a promotional tool for the recording industry, the channel was accused of devaluing the importance of music, replacing quality with a purely visual aesthetic and shunning equally popular but less image-centric or single-based acts. That year, Rolling Stone's Steven Levy wrote, "MTV's greatest achievement has been to coax rock & roll into the video arena where you can't distinguish between entertainment and the sales pitch."^[25] One musician that also criticized MTV for these reasons was Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys; the band released a song in 1985 titled "MTV, Get Off The Air." Various groups and individuals since then have criticized MTV for similar reasons, insisting that the channel has a responsibility as "Music Television" to play more music videos and uphold better critical standards for the music videos that they choose to feature in rotation.

Legendary music series

Further information: List of programs broadcast by MTV

MTV introduced 120 Minutes in 1986, a show that would feature low-rotation, alternative rock and other "underground" videos for the next 14 years on MTV and three additional years on sister channel MTV2. The program then became known as Subterranean on MTV2.

Another after hours show was added in 1987, Headbangers Ball. This popular show featured heavy metal music and news. Before its abrupt cancellation in 1995, it featured several hosts, notably Riki Rachtman and Adam Curry. Headbangers Ball remains an iconic identifier of heavy metal music. A weekly block of music videos with the name Headbangers Ball has aired since 2003 on sister channel MTV2.

In 1988, MTV debuted Yo! MTV Raps, a hip-hop/rap formatted program. The program continued until August 1995. It was renamed to simply Yo! and played for one hour from 1995 until 1999. The concept was reintroduced as Direct Effect in 2000, which became Sucker Free in 2006 and was cancelled in 2008, after briefly celebrating the 20th anniversary of Yo! MTV Raps throughout the months of April and May 2008. Despite its cancellation on MTV, a weekly countdown of hip-hop videos known as Sucker Free still airs on MTV2.

By the beginning of the 1990s, the channel debuted Dial MTV, a daily top ten music video countdown show for which viewers could call the toll-free telephone number 1-800-DIAL-MTV to request a music video. Although Dial MTV was short-lived, the number remained in use for video requests until 2006.

Rise of the directors

By the early 1990s, MTV was playing a combination of pop-friendly hard rock acts, chart-topping metal acts such as Metallica and Guns N' Roses, pop singers such as Michael Jackson, Madonna and New Kids on the Block, and R&B quartets such as New Edition, Bell Biv Devoe, Tony Toni Tone, and Boyz II Men, while introducing hit pop/rap acts Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer. MTV progressively increased its airing of hip-hop and rap acts, such as LL Cool J, Naughty By Nature, Onyx and Sir-Mix-A-Lot, and by 1993, the channel added West Coast rappers previously associated with gangsta rap, with a less pop-friendly sound, such as Tupac Shakur, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.

To accompany the new sounds, a new form of music videos came about: more creative, funny, artistic, experimental, and technically accomplished than those in the 1980s. Several noted film directors got their start creating music videos. MTV began listing the names of the videos' directors at the bottom of the credits by December 1992. As a result, MTV's viewers became familiar with the names of Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, David Fincher, Samuel Bayer, Matt Mahurin, Mark Romanek, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Anton Corbijn, Mark Pellington, Tarsem, Jake Scott, Jonathan Glazer, Marcus Nispel, F. Gary Gray, and Marty Callner, among others.

As the PBS series Frontline explored, MTV was a driving force that catapulted music videos to a mainstream audience, turning music videos into an art form as well as a marketing machine that became beneficial to artists. Danny Goldberg, chairman and CEO of Artemis Records, said the following about the art of music videos: "I know when I worked with Nirvana, Kurt Cobain cared as much about the videos as he did about the records. He wrote the scripts for them, he was in the editing room, and they were part of his art. And I think they stand up as part of his art, and I think that's true of the great artists today. Not every artist is a great artist and not every video is a good video, but in general having it available as a tool, to me, adds to the business. And I wish there had been music videos in the heyday of the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. I think they would've added to their creative contribution, not subtracted from it."^[26] The Beatles did produce music videos specifically for television broadcast once their massive popularity made it less practical for them to appear in person.

Alternative is mainstream

Nirvana led a massive transition into the rise of alternative rock music on MTV in 1991 with their popular video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit." By late 1991 going into 1992, MTV began frequently airing videos from their heavily promoted "Buzz Bin," such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, PM Dawn, Arrested Development, Björk, and Gin Blossoms. MTV increased rotation of its weekly alternative music program 120 Minutes and added the daily Alternative Nation to play videos of these and other underground music acts. Subsequently, grunge and alternative rock had a rise in mainstream tastes, while 1980s style hair bands and traditional rockers were phased out, with some exceptions such as Aerosmith and Tom Petty. Older acts such as R.E.M. and U2 remained relevant by making their music more experimental or unexpected.

In 1993, more hit alternative rock acts were on heavy rotation, such as Stone Temple Pilots, Soul Asylum, Lenny Kravitz, Tool, Beck, Therapy?, Radiohead, and Smashing Pumpkins. Other hit acts such as Weezer, Collective Soul, Blind Melon, The Cranberries, Candlebox, Bush, and Silverchair would follow in the next couple of years. Alternative bands that appeared on Beavis and Butthead also rose to fame, most notably White Zombie.

By the next few years, 1994 through 1996, MTV began promoting new punk rock acts, most successfully Green Day and Offspring, and ska-rock acts such as No Doubt, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and Sublime. Pop singers were added to the rotation with success as long as they were considered "alternative," such as Alanis Morissette, Jewel, Fiona Apple, and Sarah McLachlan.

Electronica and pop

By 1997, MTV focused heavily on introducing electronica acts into the mainstream, adding them to its musical rotation. Some of the more popular musicians of this group were The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Moby, Aphex Twin, Daft Punk, The Crystal Method, Fatboy Slim, and Roni Size. Some other established musicians proceeded to experiment with electronica and be played on MTV, most notably Madonna, U2, David Bowie, and Smashing Pumpkins. This year MTV also attempted to introduce neo-swing bands, but they did not meet with much success.

However, in late 1997, MTV began shifting more progressively towards pop music, inspired by the success of the Spice Girls and the rise of boy bands in Europe. Between 1998 and 1999, MTV's musical content consisted heavily of videos of boy bands such as Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync as well as teen pop "princesses" such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore, and Jessica Simpson. Airplay of rock, electronica, and alternative acts was reduced. Hip-hop music continued in heavy rotation, through the likes of Puff Daddy, Master P, DMX, Busta Rhymes, Jay Z, Missy Elliott, Eminem, Ja Rule and their associates. R&B was also heavily represented with acts such as Destiny's Child and Brandy.

Total Request Live

MTV Studios in Times Square

Main article: Total Request Live

Also by 1997, MTV was criticized heavily for not playing as many music videos as it had in the past. In response, MTV created four shows that centered around music videos: MTV Live, Total Request, Say What?, and 12 Angry Viewers. Also at this time, MTV introduced its new studios in Times Square. A year later, in 1998, MTV merged Total Request and MTV Live into a live daily top ten countdown show, Total Request Live, which would become known as TRL and secure its place as the channel's unofficial flagship program.

The original host of TRL, Carson Daly, brought popularity to the show. TRL spent its first year developing a cult-type following, and every weekday, hundreds of fans would stand in Times Square outside the TRL studios. In the fall of 1999, a live studio audience was added to the show. By spring 2000, the countdown reached its peak, becoming a recognizable icon of popular culture in its first two years of existence. The program enjoyed success playing the top ten pop, rock, R&B, and hip-hop music videos.

On September 11, 2001, when the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon occurred, MTV suspended all of its programming along with its sister cable channel VH1, and it began simulcasting the CBS News coverage from its then-sister network until about 11:00 p.m. that night. The channels then played a looped set of music videos without commercial interruption until an MTV News special edition of TRL aired on September 14, 2001.

In 2002, Carson Daly left MTV and TRL to pursue a late-night talk show on NBC; after his departure, the relevance and impact of Total Request Live slowly diminished. TRL ultimately remained a part of MTV's regular program schedule for ten years. The series came to an end with a special finale episode, Total Finale Live, which aired November 16, 2008, and featured many special guests from the history of the show.^[27]

Return of the Rock

Beginning in late 1997, MTV progressively reduced its airing of rock music videos, leading to the slogan among skeptics, "Rock is dead."^[28] The break-up of some key bands and the declining sales of other acts that put out artistic and commercial flops were cited as reasons that MTV abandoned its once staple music. MTV instead devoted its musical airtime mostly to pop and hip-hop/R&B music. All rock-centric shows were eliminated and the rock-related categories of the Video Music Awards were pared down to one.

From this time until 2004, MTV took some efforts periodically to reintroduce rock music videos to the channel. By 1998 through 1999, the rock band Blink-182 received regular airtime on MTV due in large part to their "All the Small Things" video that satirized the boy bands that MTV was airing at the time. Meanwhile, some rock bands that were not receiving MTV support, such as Korn and Creed, continued to sell albums. Then, upon the release of Korn's rock/rap hybrid album Follow the Leader, MTV began playing Korn's videos "Got the Life" and "Freak on a Leash", which became popular.

A band sponsored by Korn, Limp Bizkit, received airtime for its cover of George Michael's "Faith", which became a hit. Subsequently, MTV began airing more rap/rock hybrid acts, such as Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock. Some rock acts with more comical videos, such as Rob Zombie, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Foo Fighters, also received airtime.

In the fall of 1999, MTV announced a special Return of the Rock weekend, in which new rock acts received airtime, after which a compilation album was released. System of a Down, Staind, Godsmack, Incubus, Papa Roach, P.O.D., Sevendust, Powerman 5000, Slipknot, Kittie and Static X were among the featured bands. These bands received some airtime on MTV and more so on MTV2, though both channels gave emphasis to the rock/rap acts.

By 2000, Sum 41, Linkin Park, Jimmy Eat World, Mudvayne, Cold, At the Drive-In, Alien Ant Farm, and other acts were added to the musical rotation with success. MTV also launched digital cable channel MTVX to play rock music videos exclusively, an experiment that lasted until 2002. A daily music video program on MTV that carried the name Return of the Rock ran through early 2001, replaced by a successor, All Things Rock, from 2002 until 2004.

Looking back

Around 1999 through 2001, as MTV aired fewer music videos throughout the day, it regularly aired compilation specials from its then 20-year history to look back on its roots. An all-encompassing special, MTV Uncensored, premiered in 1999 and was later released as a book.^[29][30]

MTV celebrated its 20th anniversary on August 1, 2001, beginning with a 12-hour retrospective called MTV20: Buggles to Bizkit, which featured over 100 classic videos played chronologically, hosted by various VJs in reproductions of MTV's old studios. The day of programming culminated in a 3-hour celebratory live event called MTV20: Live and Almost Legal, which was hosted by Carson Daly and featured numerous guests from MTV's history, including the original VJs from 1981. Various other related MTV20 specials aired in the months surrounding the event.

Five years later, on August 1, 2006, MTV celebrated its 25th anniversary. On their web site, MTV.com, visitors could watch the very first hour of MTV, including airing the original promos and commercials from Mountain Dew, Atari, Chewels gum, and Jovan. Videos were also shown from The Buggles, Pat Benatar, Rod Stewart, and others. The introduction of the first five VJs was also shown. Additionally, MTV.com put together a "yearbook" consisting of the greatest videos of each year from 1981 to 2006. MTV itself only mentioned the anniversary once on TRL.

Trends since 2000

Despite targeted efforts to play certain types of music videos in limited rotation, MTV greatly reduced its overall rotation of music videos throughout the first decade of the 2000s. While music videos were featured up to eight hours per day in 2000, the year 2008 saw an average of just three hours of music videos per day. The rise of the Internet as a convenient outlet for the promotion and viewing of music videos likely signaled this reduction.

As the decade progressed, MTV continued to play some music videos instead of relegating them exclusively to its sister channels, but around this time, the channel began to air music videos only in the early morning hours or in a condensed form on Total Request Live. As a result of these programming changes, Justin Timberlake challenged MTV to "play more damn videos!" while giving an acceptance speech at the 2007 Video Music Awards.^[31]

Despite the challenge from Timberlake, MTV continued to decrease its total rotation time for music videos in 2007, and the channel eliminated its long-running special tags for music videos such as "Buzzworthy" (for under-represented artists), "Breakthrough" (for visually stunning videos), and "Spankin' New" (for brand new videos). Additionally, the historic Kabel typeface, which MTV displayed at the beginning and end of all music videos since 1981, was phased out in favor of larger text and less information about the video's record label and director. The classic font can still be seen on videos airing on MTV Jams, and in "prechyroned" versions of old videos on sister network VH1 Classic, which had their title information recorded onto the same tape as the video itself.

For most of 2008, MTV's main source of music video programming was still Total Request Live, airing four times per week, featuring short clips of music videos along with VJs and daily guests. A hip-hop music video show, Sucker Free, also aired sporadically until the summer. In the summer of 2008, MTV premiered new music video programming blocks and a weekly special event called FNMTV, hosted from Los Angeles by Pete Wentz of the band Fall Out Boy, exclusively to premiere new music videos and have viewers provide instantaneous feedback.^[32] The FNMTV summer event ended shortly before the 2008 Video Music Awards in September. TRL aired its last episode in November 2008, and the FNMTV series is expected to return in December 2008.^[33]

Throughout each day, MTV shows excerpts from music videos, usually the hook, in split screen format during the closing credits of most programs, along with the web address of the MTV web site to encourage the viewer to watch the full video online. On most days, music video rotation continues in the early morning hours. The channel currently airs somewhere between 5 and 20 hours of music videos and music-related programming per week, as the Internet increasingly becomes more ubiquitous and a more convenient place for watching music videos (see Beyond MTV, below).

Other programs on MTV

As MTV expanded, music videos were no longer the centerpiece of its programming. Conventional TV shows came to replace the VJ-guided music video programming. Today, MTV presents a wide variety of non-music related television shows aimed primarily at the 12 to 34 year old demographic. This section outlines the history of MTV's programming changes and popular television shows.

Award shows

Further information: List of MTV award shows

In 1984, the network produced its first MTV Video Music Awards show, or VMAs. Perceived by some as a fit of self-indulgence by a fledgling network at the time, the VMAs developed into a music-industry showcase marketed as a more relevant youth-targeted antidote to the Grammy awards. The first award show, in 1984, was punctuated by a live performance by Madonna of "Like A Virgin."

MTV added the MTV Movie Awards in 1992 with similar success. MTV also created an award show for Europe after the success of the VMAs. The MTV Europe Music Awards, or the EMAs, were created in 1994, ten years after the debut of the VMAs.

First format evolution

Further information: List of programs broadcast by MTV

In 1985, Viacom bought Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, which owned MTV and Nickelodeon, renaming the company "MTV Networks" and beginning this expansion. Before 1987, MTV featured almost exclusively music videos, but as time passed, they introduced a variety of other shows, including some that were originally intended for other channels.

Non-music video programming began in the late 1980s with the introduction of a music news show The Week in Rock, which was also the beginning of MTV's news division, MTV News. Around this time, MTV also introduced a dance show Club MTV, a game show Remote Control, and music-based specials such as MTV Unplugged, an acoustic performance show.

These new shows would be just the beginning of new genres of shows to impact MTV. As the format of the network continued to evolve, more genres of shows began to appear. In the early 1990s, MTV debuted its first reality shows, The Real World and Road Rules.

Animated shows

Further information: List of MTV shows: Animation

In a continuing bid to become a more diverse network, focusing on youth and culture, as well as music, MTV introduced animated shows to its line-up in the early 1990s. The animation showcase Liquid Television (originally a BBC import, later acquired and produced by MTV) was one of the networks first programs to focus on the medium. In addition to airing original shows created specifically for MTV, the network also occasionally aired episodes of original cartoon series created by sister-station Nickelodeon (Nicktoons) in the early 1990s.

MTV has a history of cartoons with mature themes, notably Beavis and Butthead, Æon Flux, Grimmy, Celebrity Deathmatch, Undergrads, Clone High and Daria. Although the channel has gone on to debut many other animated shows, few of MTV's other cartoon series have been renewed for additional seasons, regardless of their reception.

Focus on reality shows

Further information: List of MTV shows: Reality series

In the mid- to late 1990s and early 2000s, MTV placed a stronger focus on reality shows and related series, building on the success of The Real World and Road Rules in the 1990s. The first round of these shows came in the mid-1990s, with game shows such as Singled Out and talk shows such as Loveline and The Jon Stewart Show.

The next round of these shows came in approximately 1999, as MTV shifted its focus to prank/comedic shows such as The Tom Green Show and Jackass, soap operas such as Undressed, and game shows such as The Blame Game, webRIOT, and Say What? Karaoke. A year later, in 2000, MTV's Fear became one of the first scare-based reality shows and the first reality show in which contestants filmed themselves.

Some of the reality shows on the network also followed the lives of musicians. The Osbournes, a reality show based on the everyday life of former Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, his wife Sharon, and two of their children, Jack and Kelly, premiered on MTV in 2002. The show went on to become one of the network's biggest-ever success stories and was also recognized for the heavy use of bleeped profanity by the Osbourne family members.^[34] It also kick-started a musical career for Kelly Osbourne,^[35] while Sharon Osbourne went on to host her own self-titled talk show on U.S. television.^[36] Ozzy Osbourne announced that production for his show would cease in November 2004.^[37] In the fall of 2004, Ozzy Osbourne's reality show Battle for Ozzfest aired; the show hosted competitions between bands vying to play as part of Ozzfest, a yearly heavy metal music tour across the United States hosted by Osbourne.

In 2003, MTV added Punk'd, a project by Ashton Kutcher to play pranks on various celebrities, and Pimp My Ride, a show about adding aesthetic and functional modifications to cars and other vehicles. Another popular show was Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, a reality TV show that followed the lives of pop singers Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, a music celebrity couple. It began in 2003, ran for four seasons. and ended in early 2005. The couple later divorced. The success of Newlyweds was followed in June 2004 by The Ashlee Simpson Show, which documented the beginnings of the music career of Ashlee Simpson, Jessica Simpson's younger sister.

Recent programming

In 2005 and 2006, MTV continued its focus on reality shows, with the debuts of popular shows such as 8th & Ocean, Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, NEXT, Two-A-Days, My Super Sweet 16, and Parental Control.

In addition, in recent times, the channel has re-aired other programs from Viacom-owned TV networks, such as BET's College Hill and VH1 programs I Love New York and Flavor of Love.^[38] Other programs from non-Viacom networks include reruns of the shows Fastlane (from FOX),^[39] Life As We Know It (from ABC)^[40] and CW programs America's Next Top Model, Beauty and the Geek^[41], and Hidden Palms.

MTV also began showing movies targeted toward the teen/young adult demographic, including 8 Mile,^[42] My Boss's Daughter, Shaun of the Dead, and Napoleon Dynamite. The channel has also broadcast several of its own productions of its film-producing division MTV Films, such as Crossroads, Jackass: The Movie,^[43] and Super Sweet 16: The Movie.

In 2007, MTV aired the reality show A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, chronicling MySpace sensation Tila Tequila's journey to find a companion. Her bisexuality played into the series—both male and female contestants were vying for love—and was the subject of criticism.^[44] It was the second-most popular show at that time, behind The Hills.^[45] A spin-off series from Shot of Love, That's Amoré!, followed a similar pursuit from previous Shot at Love contestant Domenico Nesci. MTV also welcomed Paris Hilton to their lineup in October 2008 with the launch of her new reality series, Paris Hilton's My New BFF.^[46]

Moral influence

MTV's near-ubiquitous presence in popular culture for over 25 years has led the channel to be in the center of the ongoing debate over the cultural and moral influence of music and television on young people and society. The channel has thus found itself a target of criticism by various groups about programming choices, social issues, political correctness, sensitivity, censorship, and a perceived negative moral influence on young people.^[47]

Anti-family accusations

Main article: Criticism of MTV

The conservative media watchdog group Parents Television Council, which advocates family-friendly programming on television, has labeled MTV as a group of "smut peddlers," claiming that the network puts a bad influence on its targeted audience, based on research done in 2004 and 2005.^[48][49]

Jeanette Kedas, an MTV network executive, called the PTC report "unfair and inaccurate" and "underestimating young people's intellect and level of sophistication", while L. Brent Bozell III, then-president of the PTC, stated that "the incessant sleaze on MTV presents the most compelling case yet for consumer cable choice," referring to the practice of cable and satellite companies to allow consumers to pay for channels à la carte.^[50]

The Christian right organization American Family Association has also criticized MTV from perceptions of negative moral influence,^[51] even going as far as to describe MTV as promoting a "pro-sex, anti-family, pro-choice (i.e., pro-abortion), drug culture."^[52] The evangelical group Focus on the Family has released a spoken-word CD titled Confronting the MTV Culture to persuade parents to counter the "dangerous messages" of MTV.^[53]

Political correctness

Main article: Censorship on MTV

On the other side of the moral influence debate, MTV has also come under criticism for being too politically correct and sensitive, censoring too much of their programming. MTV has edited a number of music videos to remove references to drugs,^[54] sex, violence, weapons, racism, homophobia, or advertising.^[55] Many music videos aired on the channel were censored, moved to late-night rotation, or banned entirely from the channel.

In the 1980s, parent-media watchdog groups such as the Parents Music Resource Center criticized MTV over certain music videos that were claimed to have explicit imagery of satanism. MTV has developed a strict policy on refusal to air videos that may depict devil worship or anti-religious bigotry.^[56] This policy led MTV to ban music videos such as "Jesus Christ Pose" by Soundgarden in 1991^[57] and "Megalomaniac" by Incubus in 2004.^[58]

The debate over political correctness and sensitivity most popularly affected the 1990s animated program, Beavis and Butthead. In the wake of controversy that followed a child burning down his house after allegedly watching the show, MTV moved the program from its original 7 p.m. time slot to a late-night, 11 p.m. slot. Also, Beavis' tendency to flick a lighter and scream the word "fire" was removed from new episodes, and controversial scenes were removed from existing episodes before rebroadcast.^[59] Some years later, the creators of Jackass also felt that MTV's producers did not let the show run its free course due to the excessive restraints placed on the show's creative team.

Super Bowl controversy

Main article: Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy

MTV was selected to produce the halftime show in 2001 for Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa, Florida, in which the bands 'N Sync and Aerosmith performed.^[60] Due to its success, MTV was invited back to produce another Super Bowl halftime show, which would spark a moral influence debate and lead to sweeping changes in Super Bowl halftime shows, MTV's own programming, and even music played on the radio.

In 2004, MTV produced the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVIII, with performances by such artists as Nelly, Diddy, Janet Jackson, and Justin Timberlake. CBS, then-owners of MTV, aired the Super Bowl as well as the halftime show live on February 1, 2004. However, the show became controversial after Timberlake tore off part of Jackson's outfit while performing his hit song "Rock Your Body" with her, revealing her right breast. All involved parties apologized for the incident, and Timberlake referred to the incident as a "wardrobe malfunction."^[61]

Michael Powell, then-chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, ordered an investigation of the show the day after its broadcast.^[61] In the weeks following the controversial halftime show, MTV censored much of its programming. Several music videos, including "This Love" by Maroon 5 and "I Miss You" by Blink-182, were edited for sexual content.^[62] In September 2004, the FCC ruled that the halftime show was indecent and fined CBS $550,000.^[63] The FCC upheld its decision in 2006,^[64] but federal judges reversed the fine in 2008.^[65]

Social activism

In addition to its regular programming, MTV has a long history of promoting social, political, and environmental activism in young people. The channel's vehicles for this activism have been Choose or Lose, encompassing political causes and encouraging viewers to vote in elections; Fight For Your Rights, encompassing anti-violence and anti-discrimination causes; and think MTV, the newest umbrella for all of MTV's social activism.

Choose or Lose

In 1992, MTV started a pro-democracy campaign called Choose or Lose, to encourage up to 20 million people to register to vote, and the channel hosted a town hall forum for then-candidate Bill Clinton.^[66]

In recent years, other politically diverse programs on MTV have included True Life, which documents people's lives and problems, and MTV News specials, which center on very current events in both the music industry and the world. One special show covered the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, airing programs focused on the issues and opinions of young people, including a program where viewers could ask questions of Senator John Kerry.^[67] MTV worked with P. Diddy's "Vote or Die" campaign, designed to encourage young people to vote.^[68]

Additionally, MTV aired a documentary covering a trip by the musical group Sum 41 to the Democratic Republic of Congo, documenting the conflict there. The group ended up being caught in the midst of an attack outside of the hotel and were subsequently flown out of the country.^[69]

The channel also began showing presidential campaign commercials for the first time during the 2008 US presidential election.^[70] This has led to criticism from the right, with Jonah Goldberg opining that "MTV serves as the Democrats' main youth outreach program."^[71]

Fight For Your Rights

In the 1990s and early 2000s, MTV promoted annual campaigns known as Fight For Your Rights, with the slogan "Speak Out/Stand Up Against Violence", to bring forth awareness on America's crime, drugs and violence issues.

On April 6, 2001, MTV voluntarily ceased regular programming for 24 hours as part of the year's hate crimes awareness campaign. On that night, MTV aired a made-for-TV movie Anatomy of a Hate Crime, based on a true story of the 1998 murder of 21-year old Matthew Shepard, a gay college student. After the film and a discussion, MTV went dark and showed names of hate crime victims.

think MTV

MTV's most recent activism campaign is think MTV, which discusses current political issues such as same-sex marriage, U.S. elections, and war in other countries. The slogan of the program is "Reflect. Decide. Do." As part of think MTV, the channel also airs a series of pro-conservation ads called Break The Addiction, as a way of encouraging their viewers to find ways to use less fossil fuels and energy.

think MTV addresses twelve major issue areas: discrimination, environment, politics, health & self, crime & violence, poverty & disease, human rights, war & peace, relationships & sex, faith, substance abuse, and education. Young people are encouraged to choose the issues that resonate most and take action to make a positive change. The motto is, "Your cause. Your effect." think MTV is also integrated in MTV’s current programming.

Beyond MTV

Since its launch in 1981, the brand "MTV" has expanded to include many additional properties beyond the original MTV channel, including a variety of sister channels in the U.S., dozens of affiliated channels around the world, and an Internet presence through MTV.com and related web sites.

MTV New Media

In mid 2008 MTV New Media announced it would be producing an ambitious original web series $5 Cover created by award winning film director Craig Brewer. The 15 webisode series is set in the local music scene of Memphis, Tennessee. Each episode will star real-life local musicians playing versions of themselves. $5 Cover aims to be a bridge between old and new media.^[72] The series will be made available to viewers via personal computers, cell phones, iPods and other digital devices that offer an alternative to watching films on TV or in movie theaters. The program is the centerpiece of an effort by MTV New Media to enhance the company's efforts to create original online programming. At the same time, the series will promote Memphis and especially Midtown Memphis music and culture to a worldwide audience.^[73]

The Internet

In the late 1980s, before the World Wide Web, in the days of the Gopher protocol, MTV VJ Adam Curry began experimenting on the Internet. He registered the then-unclaimed domain name "MTV.com" in 1993 with the idea of being MTV's unofficial new voice on the Internet. Although this move was sanctioned by his supervisors at MTV Networks at the time, when Curry left to start his own web-portal design and hosting company, MTV subsequently sued him for the domain name, which led to an out-of-court settlement.^[74]

The service hosted at the domain name was originally branded "MTV Online" during MTV's first few years of control over it in the mid-1990s. It served as a counterpart to the America Online portal for MTV content, which existed at AOL keyword MTV until approximately the end of the 1990s. After this time, the web site became known as simply "MTV.com" and served as the Internet home base for all MTV and MTV News content.

MTV.com experimented with entirely video-based layouts between 2005 and 2007. The experiment began in April 2005 as MTV Overdrive, a streaming video service that supplemented the regular MTV.com web site.^[75] Shortly after the 2006 Video Music Awards, which were streamed on MTV.com and heavily utilized the MTV Overdrive features, MTV introduced a massive change for MTV.com, transforming the entire site into a Flash video-based entity.^[76] Much of users' feedback about the Flash-based site was negative, demonstrating a dissatisfaction with videos that played automatically, commercials that could not be skipped or stopped, and the slower speed of the entire web site. The experiment ended in February 2007 as MTV.com reverted to a traditional HTML-based web site design with embedded video clips, in the style of YouTube and other popular video-based web sites.^[77]

Today, MTV.com is still the official website of MTV, and it expands on the channel's broadcasts by bringing additional content to its viewers. The site's notable features include an online version of MTV News, podcasts, and a video streaming service supported by commercials. There are also movie features, profiles and interviews with recording artists and from MTV's television programs.

The channel responded to the rise of the Internet as the new central place to watch music videos in October 2008 by launching MTV Music, a web site that features thousands of music videos from MTV and VH1's video libraries, dating back to the earliest videos from 1981.

Sister channels in the U.S.

Further information: MTV Networks

MTV operates a group of channels under the name MTV Networks, a division of its corporate parent, Viacom. In 1985, MTV saw the introduction of its first true sister channel, VH1, which was originally an acronym for "Video Hits One" and was designed to play adult contemporary music videos. Today, VH1 is aimed at celebrity and popular culture programming. Another sister channel, CMT, targets the country music and southern culture market.

The advent of satellite television and digital cable brought MTV greater channel diversity, including its current sister channels MTV2 and MTV Tr3s, which initially played music videos exclusively but now focus on other programming. Music videos still occupy most of the schedule on two additional channels, MTV Hits and MTV Jams. MTV also broadcasts mtvU, a college-oriented channel on campus at various universities.

In 2005 and 2006, MTV launched a series of channels for Asian Americans. The first channel was MTV Desi, launched in July 2005, dedicated toward South-Asian Americans. Next was MTV Chi, in December 2005, which catered to Chinese Americans. The third was MTV K, launched in June 2006 and targeted toward Korean Americans. Each of these channels featured music videos and shows from MTV's international affiliates as well as original U.S. programming, promos, and packaging. All three of these channels ceased broadcasting on April 30, 2007.

MTV Networks also operates Palladia, a high-definition channel that features original HD programming and HD versions of programs from MTV, VH1, and CMT. The station was launched in January 2006 as MHD (Music: High Definition). The channel was officially rebranded as Palladia on September 1, 2008 to coincide with the shift to more exclusive HD programming.^[78]

MTV around the world

Further information: List of MTV channels

MTV Networks has also launched numerous native-language MTV-branded music channels to dozens of countries around the world. MTV UK operates 16 channels solely in the United Kingdom. Other channels include, but are not limited to, MTV Brazil, MTV Canada, MTV Ireland, MTV Greece, MTV Russia, MTV Spain, MTV Austria, MTV France, MTV Germany, MTV Europe, MTV Portugal, MTV Adria, MTV Denmark, MTV Finland, MTV Italy, MTV Norway, MTV Poland, MTV Arabia, MTV Romania, MTV Lithuania, MTV Latvia, MTV Estonia, MTV Sweden, MTV Asia, MTV Japan, MTV India, MTV Philippines, MTV Turkey, MTV Pakistan, MTV Latin America, MTV Australia, MTV New Zealand, MTV Ukraine, and MTV Base in Africa. An international version of MTV known as MTV International was shown on the Internet from 2006 to 2007.

See also

• List of MTV channels
• List of programs broadcast by MTV
• List of MTV award shows
• List of MTV VJs
• Criticism of MTV
• Censorship on MTV
• MTV News
• MTV Networks
• First music videos aired on MTV
• MTV generation
• MTV slogans on Wikiquote

References

External links

• MTV.com
• MTV International