channel . for other channels related to mtv see list of mtv channels . for other uses see mtv disambiguation . mtv launched august 1 1981 ; 35 years ago 1981 08 01 owned by viacom viacom media networks picture format 1080i hdtv 480i sdtv country united states language english headquarters new york city formerly called music television 1981 2010 1 website mtv.com availability satellite directv 331 sd hd 1331 vod dish network 160 sd hd 1333 hd cable available on many us cable providers check local listings for channel numbers iptv verizon fios 210 sd 710 hd at & t u verse 1502 hd 502 sd sling tv internet protocol television playstation vue internet protocol television part of a series on mtv in the united states mtv channels mtv2 classic tres mtv live mtvu programs on mtv mtv personalities censorship on mtv viacom media networks v t e mtv originally an initialism of music television is an american cable and satellite television channel owned by viacom through viacom media networks and headquartered in new york city . launched on august 1 1981 2 the channel originally aired music videos guided by television personalities known as video jockeys vjs . 3 in its early years mtv s main target demographic was young adults but today it is primarily towards teenagers high school and college students . mtv has toned down its music video programming significantly in recent years and its programming now consists mainly of original reality comedy and drama programming and some off network syndicated programs and films with limited music video programming in off peak time periods . it has received criticism towards this change of focus both by certain segments of its audience and musicians . mtv s influence on its audience including issues involving censorship and social activism have also been a subject of debate for several years . in recent years mtv had struggled with the secular decline of music related cable media . mtv ratings had been said to be failing systematically as younger viewers increasingly shift towards digital media with yearly ratings drops as high as 29 % ; thus there was doubt of the lasting relevance of mtv towards young audiences . 4 5 6 in april 2016 mtv announced it would start to return to its original music roots with the reintroduction of the classic mtv series mtv unplugged . it was also reported that the series mtv cribs would be making a return on snapchat with 14 original music related shows speculated to be in production . on august 1 mtv replaced vh1 classic with mtv classic which airs mtv programming of the 1990s and 2000s such as daria beavis and butt head laguna beach the real orange county older versions of mtv unplugged and headbangers ball . the channel also airs music videos that originally aired on mtv during the late 1980s and 1990s . mtv has spawned numerous sister channels in the us and affiliated channels internationally some of which have gone independent . as of july 2015 approximately 92 188 000 us households 79.2 % of households with television have received mtv . 7 contents 1 history 1.1 previous concepts 1964 77 1.2 pre history 1977 81 1.3 music television s debut 1.4 original vjs and format 1981 94 1.5 breaking the color barrier 1981 83 1.6 video music awards 1984 present 1.7 special annual events 1986 present 1.8 live concert broadcasts 1985 2005 1.9 formatted music series 1986 2008 1.10 rise of the directors 1990 93 1.11 alternative is mainstream 1991 97 1.12 electronica and pop 1997 99 1.13 return of the rock 1997 2004 1.14 total request live 1998 2008 1.15 milestones and specials 1999 2011 1.16 fewer music videos 1995 2008 1.17 fnmtv and amtv 2008 present 1.18 recent music programs 2009 present 1.19 post trl live shows 2009 present 2 other programs 2.1 first format evolution 1985 91 2.2 reality programs 1992 present 2.3 animated programs 1991 2011 2.4 scripted programs 1989 present 2.5 rebroadcast programs 2.6 impact and recognition 2010 3 logo and branding 4 influence and controversies 4.1 subsequent concepts 4.2 censorship 4.3 andrew dice clay 4.4 beavis and butt head 4.5 dude this sucks 4.6 super bowl xxxviii halftime show 4.6.1 nipplegate 4.7 moral criticism 4.8 jersey shore 5 social activism 5.1 choose or lose 5.2 rock the vote 5.3 mtv act and power of 12 5.4 elect this 6 beyond mtv 6.1 sister channels in the u.s. 6.2 internet 6.3 mtv around the world 7 see also 8 references 8.1 bibliography 8.2 further reading 9 external links history edit previous concepts 1964 77 edit see also music video history and development several earlier concepts for music video based television programming had been around since the early 1960s . the beatles had used music videos to promote their records starting in the mid 1960s . the creative use of music videos within their 1964 film a hard day s night particularly the performance of the song can t buy me love led mtv later on june 26 1999 to honor the film s director richard lester with an award for basically inventing the music video . 8 in his book the mason williams fcc rapport author mason williams states that he pitched an idea to cbs for a television program that featured video radio where disc jockeys would play avant garde art pieces set to music . cbs rejected the idea but williams premiered his own musical composition classical gas on the smothers brothers comedy hour where he was head writer . in 1970 philadelphia based disc jockey bob whitney created the now explosion a television series filmed in atlanta and broadcast in syndication to other local television stations throughout the united states . the series featured promotional clips from various popular artists but was canceled by its distributor in 1971 . several music programs originating outside of the us including australia s countdown and the united kingdom s top of the pops which had initially aired music videos in lieu of performances from artists who were not available to perform live began to feature them regularly by the mid 1970s . in 1974 gary van haas vice president of televak corporation introduced a concept to distribute a music video channel to record stores across the united states and promoted the channel named music video tv to distributors and retailers in a may 1974 issue of billboard . 9 10 the channel which featured video disc jockeys signed a deal with us cable in 1978 to expand its audience from retail to cable television . the service was no longer active by the time mtv launched in 1981 . pre history 1977 81 edit in 1977 warner cable a division of warner communications and the precursor of warner amex satellite entertainment launched the first two way interactive cable television system named qube in columbus ohio . the qube system offered many specialized channels . one of these specialized channels was sight on sound a music channel that featured concert footage and music oriented television programs . with the interactive qube service viewers could vote for their favorite songs and artists . the original programming format of mtv was created by media executive robert w. pittman who later became president and chief executive officer ceo of mtv networks . 11 pittman had test driven the music format by producing and hosting a 15 minute show album tracks on new york city television station wnbc tv in the late 1970s . pittman s boss warner amex executive vice president john lack had shepherded popclips a television series created by former monkees turned solo artist michael nesmith whose attention had turned to the music video format in the late 1970s . 12 the inspiration for popclips came from a similar program on new zealand s tvnz network named radio with pictures which premiered in 1976 . the concept itself had been in the works since 1966 when major record companies began supplying the new zealand broadcasting corporation with promotional music clips to play on the air at no charge . few artists made the long trip to new zealand to appear live . music television s debut edit the first images shown on mtv were a montage of the apollo 11 moon landing further information first music videos aired on mtv on saturday august 1 1981 at 12 01 am eastern time mtv launched with the words ladies and gentlemen rock and roll spoken by john lack and played over footage of the first space shuttle launch countdown of columbia which took place earlier that year and of the launch of apollo 11 . those words were immediately followed by the original mtv theme song a crunching rock tune composed by jonathan elias and john petersen playing over the american flag changed to show mtv s logo changing into various textures and designs . mtv producers alan goodman and fred seibert used this public domain footage as a concept ; 13 seibert said that they had originally planned to use neil armstrong s one small step quote but lawyers said that armstrong owned his name and likeness and that he had refused so the quote was replaced with a beeping sound . 14 a shortened version of the shuttle launch id ran at the top of every hour in various forms from mtv s first day until it was pulled in early 1986 in the wake of the challenger disaster . 15 the first music video shown on mtv was the buggles video killed the radio star originally only available to homes in new jersey . 16 this was followed by the video for pat benatar s you better run . sporadically the screen would go black when an employee at mtv inserted a tape into a vcr . 17 mtv s lower third graphics that appeared near the beginning and end of music videos would eventually use the recognizable kabel typeface for about 25 years ; but these graphics differed on mtv s first day of broadcast ; they were set in a different typeface and included information such as the year and record label name . as programming chief robert w. pittman recruited and managed a team for the launch that included tom freston who succeeded pittman as ceo of mtv networks fred seibert john sykes carolyn baker original head of talent and acquisition 18 marshall cohen original head of research 19 gail sparrow of talent and acquisition sue steinberg executive producer 20 julian goldberg steve lawrence geoff bolton ; studio producers and mtv news writers associate producers liz nealon nancy lapook and robin zorn ; steve casey creator of the name mtv and its first program director 21 marcy brafman ronald e. buzz brindle and robert morton . kenneth m. miller is credited as being the first technical director to officially launch mtv from its new york city based network operations facility . 21 mtv s effect was immediate in areas where the new music video channel was carried . within two months record stores in areas where mtv was available were selling music that local radio stations were not playing such as men at work bow wow wow and the human league . 22 mtv sparked the second british invasion with british acts who had been accustomed to using music videos for half a decade featuring heavily on the channel . 23 24 original vjs and format 1981 94 edit mtv s original logo used from august 1 1981 to march 18 2009 . it is still used in other countries . further information list of mtv vjs the original purpose of mtv was to be music television playing music videos 24 hours a day and seven days a week guided by on air personalities known as vjs or video jockeys . the original slogans of the channel were you ll never look at music the same way again