Paramount to close five UK MTV music channels by year-end

Paramount Global will close five of MTV's UK music channels at the end of the year, ending the network's long-running practice of airing nonstop music videos on linear television, according to industry reports. The channels slated to stop broadcasting after December 31 are MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live, while the main MTV channel is expected to remain on air, focusing on reality series.

The planned closures follow a corporate restructuring tied to Paramount's wider business moves, including a merger with Skydance Media and cost-cutting measures, which industry observers say have accelerated changes to the network's output. Executives have pointed to shifting audience habits and the rise of online platforms such as YouTube and social media as major factors in declining viewership for traditional music-video channels.

The five channels affected have different histories. MTV Music began as a continuous music channel in 2011 for the UK and Ireland. MTV 80s and MTV 90s were launched in the early 2020s as decade-focused replacements for older offerings. Club MTV, originally introduced in 2011 to spotlight dance and electronic genres, briefly ceased in 2020 before...