Paramount Global announced big changes to MTV’s flagship channels around the world. According to BBC News, the channel is saying goodbye to five of its sister stations in several countries at the end of the year as they are set to shut down.
People only have a few more months to enjoy MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live before the channels stop broadcasting in the U.K., Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Australia and Brazil after Dec. 31, per Euronews.
Here’s everything to know about the closures and other changes at Paramount Global.
Former MTV video jockey Simone Angel said she’s ‘really sad’ to see the channels go
While MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live will soon be no more, MTV HD will stay on, airing reality series like Naked Dating UK and Geordie Shore.
Former MTV video jockey Simone Angel told BBC News that she was “really sad” and “a little bit in disbelief” to hear of the music channels’ demise.
“We need to support these artists and we all need to dance again and listen to music,” she said. “And I know we do that online in our own little bubbles, but MTV was the place where everything came together. So it really does break my heart.”
After 16 years of airing its stateside counterpart, MTV stretched its reach to Europe and launched the U.K.’s own dedicated channel in 1997. The then-new channel marked its debut by airing David Baddiel and Frank Skinner’s football anthem Three Lions.
Popular U.K. music hosts like Cat Deeley, Zane Lowe, and Emma Willis kicked off their careers at the channel before it forayed into reality TV and released shows like Ex on the Beach and Teen Mom UK that went on to become smash hits for the channel.
While speaking about working at both MTV Europe and MTV UK in the 1990s, Angel told BBC News that it was a “wild” time akin to “being on a school trip without any teachers.”
She also remembered the channels as leading the charge before the tech boom that sparked in the early aughts.
“MTV Europe was really the forerunner to the internet,” she told the outlet. “We were the most widespread TV channel in the world at that point. We had between 100 and 150 million viewers.”
In 2011, MTV UK stopped airing music videos, which then aired on its sister stations. And although times are changing, Angel said she still believes there’s a place for music on TV.
“You’ve just got to move with the times. To this day, it’s one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Why on earth throw that away? It’s not thrown away, but it’s just reality TV. That’s not what MTV is or should be,” she said.
Paramount Global aims to cut costs by up to $500 million
Paramount Global’s MTV channel closures come as the entertainment company is grappling with changes in viewership due to social media and on-demand streaming. The company, which is hoping to cut costs by up to $500 million amid major losses, merged with Skydance Media earlier this year after putting its once-annual MTV European Music Awards on pause, BBC News reported.
Paramount Global recently axed Paramount Television Studios, which produced projects like action thriller Jack Ryan and the children’s adventure series The Spiderwick Chronicles. MTV productions in the U.K. also took a hit as layoffs impacted original shows like Gonzo and Fresh Out UK.
The entertainment giant will keep the MTV brand going on digital platforms and via events like the VMAs and EMAs, Euronews reported.