MTV’s 24/7 music video channels started going permanently dark Wednesday with a nod to the video that started it all: the airing of the Buggles’ iconic “Video Killed the Radio Star.”
Earlier this fall, MTV announced that it would shut down its 24-hour music channels in 2025, a move that would affect MTV channels around the world, including several channels in the United Kingdom: MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live.
Flagship channel MTV Music ended its decades-long run on New Year’s Eve the way it began, by airing The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” – the music video that launched MTV on August 1, 1981. BBC journalist Jono Read shared the moment the channel went off the air in an X-rated post documenting the video. Each of the UK channels aired a different final video on Wednesday, with MTV 90s showing the Spice Girls’ “Goodbye”.
MTV Music’s last song was Video Killed The Radio Star pic.twitter.com/48WNnbgesb
– Jono Read (@jonoread) December 31, 2025
Viewers who try to tune into these channels will now see the logos of the affected channels scrolling, indicating to viewers that they can access MTV content on MTV HD. Neither MTV nor its parent company, Paramount Skydance, have commented on the brand’s future in the United States.
MTV debuted in August 1981 in the United States, and then in the United Kingdom and Ireland in August 1987. Many of the most popular MTV programs in the United States are no longer music videos but reality shows.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has said he intends to revitalize MTV and the cable media conglomerate’s other properties, but he has not said how.
MTV’s music channels weren’t the only ones affected by budget cuts linked to the Skydance merger. MTV also announced that it would close several award shows, including the MTV Europe Music Awards and MTV Latin America’s MIAW Awards (formerly known as the Millennial Awards).
Paramount is also expected to close its music-only channels in Australia, Poland, France and Brazil.
