MTV dumps its ‘Music TV’ logo
Written by Chris Forrester
Sunday, 14 February 2010 11:26
mtvnomusicIt is tough to even begin to think of MTV without ‘music’. And in fairness music still figures in MTV’s broadcasting repertoire. But 29 years after its debut with ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ by The Buggles, the ‘Music Television’ part of its logo has formally been dropped.
It ought not to come as too much of a surprise given that in North America MTV now stands more for teen viewing and reality TV, and its competitor is no longer other music channels but is far more likely to be Facebook or YouTube. Its top-rated shows are now Jersey Shore and Teen Mom, and have little to do with music.
Last week the Viacom-backed channel quietly dropped ‘Music Television’ from their logo, and immediately prompted a rush of suggestions as to what the ‘M’ in MTV might now stand for. Top of the list was ‘Mindless Television’ which seems a bit cruel especially given the long history of the station’s support for music, the video industry in general and multichannel TV in particular.
But as one trade newspaper said a few days ago, MTV needs to regain its mojo! And quickly. The station saw a 9% drop in US domestic advertising in Q4, and bad as this is in fact it is better than the first half of 2009 when its losses were even higher.