Paramount closed every MTV music channel outside the United States on 31 December 2025. The five UK feeds that went dark were MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live, with MTV music channels in France, Germany, Poland, Australia and Brazil following. MTV’s flagship channels stayed on air.
Which MTV Channels Went Dark, and Where?
The shutdown ran market by market across two nights. Paramount Networks announced the plan in October 2025 and carried it out at the end of the year.
| Market | What closed | Date |
|---|---|---|
| UK and Ireland | MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, MTV Live | 31 December 2025 |
| France, Germany, Austria | MTV-branded music channels | 31 December 2025 |
| Poland and Hungary | MTV music channels, plus TeenNick, NickMusic, Comedy Central Extra and Paramount Network | 31 December 2025 |
| Australia | MTV music channels | 31 December 2025 |
| Brazil | Every Paramount linear channel, including MTV, MTV 00s and MTV Live | 1 January 2026 |
In the UK the five channels were removed from Sky and Virgin Media. No direct replacement was announced for the MTV Music slot.
No, MTV Itself Did Not Shut Down
MTV is still broadcasting. What closed were the music-only feeds, not the flagship network, and the wave of social media posts on New Year’s Eve claiming MTV had gone off the air completely was wrong.
A Paramount spokesperson set out the distinction directly: “MTV’s specialist music channels in the UK will no longer operate as linear channels. The flagship MTV UK channel will continue to broadcast.” The company added that it was “reviewing and adjusting its international Pay TV portfolio, given shifts in audience behaviour towards streaming and digital platforms.”
In the United States nothing closed at all. MTV, MTV2 and MTV Classic were all still on air in January 2026, and MTV Classic was still scheduling music videos while MTV2 ran reality programming.
Why Paramount Shut the Music Channels Down
The decision was financial and it followed a change of ownership. Skydance Media completed its merger with Paramount Global in August 2025, and chief executive David Ellison set out roughly $2 billion in cost savings concentrated on the traditional television business, where advertising and cable revenue were falling.
The audience profile made 24-hour music channels an obvious target. Nielsen figures reported in September 2025 put the median age of an MTV viewer at 56, by which point music video viewing had long since moved to YouTube and short-form platforms.
The target has since grown. In November 2025 Paramount told investors it expected at least $3 billion in run-rate efficiencies, up from the $2 billion outlined when the merger closed.
The Last Video the Channel Ever Played
MTV Music signed off with “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles. That was the same clip MTV used to open its very first broadcast in the United States on 1 August 1981, which made the final song a deliberate bookend rather than a coincidence.
The channel itself was younger than most viewers assumed. MTV Music launched on 1 February 2011, replacing a channel called MTV Shows, and ran for just under 15 years.
Where MTV’s Music Output Stands in 2026
MTV’s music presence now runs through one night a year and a streaming service. The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards were held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on 27 September 2026, broadcast live on CBS, simulcast on MTV and streamed on Paramount+.
That night was the brand’s strongest music result in more than a decade. The combined CBS and MTV broadcast averaged 8.43 million viewers, the biggest VMAs audience since 2015 and 51 per cent up on 2025, peaking at about 15 million during Madonna’s opening performance.
The split of that audience shows where MTV now sits. CBS carried 7.61 million viewers, about 90 per cent of the total, while MTV’s own simulcast averaged 686,000, up from 481,000 a year earlier. The awards remain the brand’s biggest music night, as they were when Taylor Swift and Stray Kids topped the 2023 VMA winners list.
For day-to-day music videos, Paramount has pointed viewers towards streaming and digital rather than television. In the United States, MTV Classic was still scheduling videos in early January 2026, and that was the only MTV channel doing so.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did MTV Shut Down Completely?
No. Only the music-only channels closed. MTV’s flagship channels kept broadcasting, and MTV in the United States carried the VMAs simulcast in September 2026.
Can You Still Watch Music Videos on MTV?
Barely. MTV Classic in the United States was still scheduling music videos in early January 2026, but the 24-hour music channels that ran them internationally no longer exist.
Are the MTV Music Channels Coming Back?
Nothing has been announced. Paramount described the closures as part of a review of its international pay-TV portfolio and said it was shifting towards streaming and digital platforms.
What Was the Final Song Played on MTV Music?
“Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles, the first video MTV ever aired in the United States on 1 August 1981.
