MTV will shut down its remaining international music channels by the end of the year, marking a major shift for the once-dominant global music television brand.

The channels affected include MTV Music, MTV Hits, and its 80s and 90s-themed music stations. According to sources at Paramount Skydance, which owns MTV, the shutdown will take effect in the UK and other European markets in the coming months. Reports also indicate that the channels will cease broadcasting in France, Germany, Poland, Australia and Brazil.

Launched in 1981, MTV revolutionised music consumption when it debuted with the iconic music video “Video Killed the Radio Star,” becoming the first TV station dedicated entirely to music videos. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the brand expanded globally, shaping youth culture through music shows, interviews, reality programming and the popular MTV Awards.

However, the rise of YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and short-form video platforms such as TikTok led to a sharp decline in viewership for traditional music television. Over the past decade, MTV gradually shifted away from music toward reality entertainment, while its dedicated music channels recorded consistently low ratings and reduced advertising revenue.

The decision by Paramount Skydance to discontinue the channels represents the most significant cutback since MTV’s founding and is widely described as the “end of an era” for linear music television.