The news that MTV officially shut down on New Year’s Eve has been circulating on social media, but it turns out that the reports are inaccurate. It is actually New Year’s Day 2026, and MTV is still up and running. However, Paramount Skydance did close down several MTV-branded music channels in the U.K. on New Year’s Eve.
In the U.S., the existing MTV channels, including MTV and MTV2, will continue to broadcast without any changes. While MTV hasn’t been solely focused on music for a long time, they still offer digital music channels such as “MTV Classic” and “MTV Live,” as well as a collection of MTV-branded FAST channels on Pluto TV.
Fans of MTV’s golden era in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s may reminisce about when the network was primarily about music. Shows like “Headbanger’s Ball,” “120 Minutes,” and “Yo! MTV Raps” were staples of MTV programming back then. However, in recent years, MTV has shifted its focus to reality programming, with shows like “The Challenge” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” taking the spotlight.
The news of MTV shutting down may have struck a chord with Gen Xers and Millennials who remember the network’s music-centric past. The decline in basic cable viewership has also contributed to concerns about the future of networks like MTV. Despite this, MTV still exists as a channel, albeit with a different programming focus than in the past.
As of 2025, MTV ranked 49th in the most-watched linear networks in primetime, with an average of 189,000 viewers. This is a significant drop from its ranking in 2015 when it had 606,000 viewers. While the MTV of yesteryears may be gone, the channel continues to be a presence in the television landscape for now.
