TV Networks That Went Downhill

[Out of the Blue]

I think MSNBC has jumped.  Their credibility has taken a major hit.  They are becoming the Fox of the far left.

[Woops]

Can MTV Return To It's Glory Days of Music Videos

When every niche cable network comes in full circle  

The effort is led by publisher of Mean Magazine, Kashy Kahledi, an old music video geek, who feels premium value is returning to the art form after Lady Gaga and Kanye West's successes. "It says that there's a certain nostalgia, that there's a sort of excitement for the music video again," Kahledi said.

The irony is that GaGa's & Kanye's biggest "MTV" impact were interrupting Taylor Swift's acceptance speach last year & wearing clothes from Oscar Myer.  

The irony is that even if MTV wanted to ditch reality TV and bring back the music video, it wouldn't matter because the state of the music industry has flipped upside down. When music videos were in their prime, Napster didn't exist and YouTube was years away. Music videos haven't lost all relevance, but they've adapted to today's viral environment where everything is on Vevo/YouTube, and people only buy music because they don't know how to use Google correctly. Times have changed, and today's music video doesn't fit into the end-all be-all role it once had, because our attention spans have been divided by four -- there's too much information on the internet coming at us from all ends for us to value it as much anymore.

So true.

Vulture reported that MTV has taken on a new series where they'll finance music videos to turn them into epic dramas -- in other words, really expensive, cool-looking music videos with good directors. The series is called 'Supervideo,' and it officially started with a new video for LCD Soundsystem's 'Pow Wow,' featuring Oscar-nominee Anna Kendrick of 'Twilight' and 'Up in the Air' fame.

Can this series revitalize the cultural relevance of music videos once again, or is it just a pet project to please MTV's older fans? Simple answer: MTV gave birth to the music video, it killed the music video, and it still won't resurrect the music video -- at least not to what it once was.

Uh, big budget music videos with the hottest celebs & notable directors have been already been done a long time ago...


Also nostalgic/older MTV fans more likely would just click on YouTube or watch VH1 Classic. Mostly just fans of that particular artist.  

Music videos in general peaked around 1994 and the novelty wore off soon after.

As for MTV's decline of video airplay, their ratings were actually low by the mid 1980's, which they had to expand their programming  more to get ratings.

Granted that they did air "Headbangers Ball", "Yo! MTV Raps", "120 Minutes", "Dial MTV", "Unplugged" & "Rockumentary"  specials, "Week In Rock",  and various music programs in the early '90's, but they went overboard with non-music related programming. Probably started with the late '80's with reruns of "The Monkees", "Young Ones", and original game show "Remote Control".

By the early '90's, they went overboard with the programs and constantly aired marathons of certain shows...

If MTV still airs music videos & music related programming, it'll focus mainly on current artists and/or what's "hip"  like always. Fuse is a good example of what MTV would be like today.

[Out of the Blue]

The big question I think is MTV even relevant anymore and will it exist five years from now?

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Considering the Fox Reality Channel is defunct, MTV could change into The Reality Show Network (RTV is a digital subchannel that airs vintage tv shows) 

Also not looking forward to anything on it's 30th since it'll be the same ol' junk. VH1 Classic aired the first batch of music videos on the 25th anniversary of the network, though the VH1 Classic itself have changed. Not suprising considering it's also from Viacom.

Good thing for YouTube

[Out of the Blue]

Considering the Fox Reality Channel is defunct, MTV could change into The Reality Show Network (RTV is a digital subchannel that airs vintage tv shows) 

That's what I'm thinking is going to happen with it.  I doubt they will continue to call themselves Music Television since there's no music there anymore.  I remember the days when MTV was something I couldn't live without and now I don't even know it's there.

[Woops]

MTV officially dropped "music television" from it's logo last year. Though long overdue by over 15 years.

[Out of the Blue]

I wouldn't be surprised at all if they completely rebrand the network with a new name, new logo, but the same crappy programming.

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Found at a hardrock forum, which gives some insight about MTV's favoritism towards alternative in the early '90's and it's role of giving it overexposure.


Though popularity of music scenes/trends  have always come & gone long before MTV.


Alternative/emo & rap isn't as overexposed as it was 5, 10, 15 years ago. Though too early to say since it's a start of a new decade. Though the music industry is still in a vast cesspool and majority of the music is horrible. (not to mention auto-tune). Or I'm probably now getting out of touch. (well, even as a teenager from the first half of the past decade I didn't like majority of the music that was popular)

kissfan71 on Fri Nov 19, 2010 3:45 pm

100%Glam wrote:
SebZ'NUFF wrote:
ok, then what i saw in the early 1992 on MTV was close to what was played in the 80's , if i understand well.....RIGHT ?

No, not at all. MTV started changing in late '91 when "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana hit it big. I watched MTV all the time from '88 through the early '90s and remember vividly how it changed.

MTV rocked hard in the late '80s. Every day there was a show called "Dial MTV" where they played the 10-15 most requested videos of the day. This is the show that cemented bands like Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison, Warrant, Winger, Slaughter, etc as mega-stars. The top 10 also had videos by bands like Faster Pussycat, LA Guns, Trixter, Kix, Firehouse, and bands at that level (even Tuff made it to #3 one day). On any given day, 70% or more of the Dial MTV videos were rock/metal.

There was Headbanger's Ball, but also Hard 60, Hard 30, and general rotation that heavily pushed the aforementioned bands to the masses.

Further, there were constant "top 100 of all-time" shows on the weekends, and the top videos were peppered with rock and metal from Poison, Slaughter, GNR, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, and bands like that.

Things changed in '92/'93 when a new regime took over MTV, and the people in charge decided against playing rock videos. It had very little to do with changing musical tastes by the general public, because at that time, Skid Row was still the most requested band on MTV and they didn't care. They refused to play them and pushed grunge down our throats instead. It was an executive decision. Adam Curry was there at the time and talked about it once on the Howard Stern Show. People like to re-write history and say grunge killed hair metal, which is absolutely false. New executives at MTV killed metal.

The best comparison is WCW. The only reason it died was that new people took over Ted Turner's company and decided not to air wrestling anymore. Decisions made in board rooms can control what happens in pop culture.

You wrote just about the same thing I was going to write..LOL its true, hard rock dominated most of the "request" shows MTV had, plus, many glam rock bands were being invited to host a few hours of MTV, also, there were a few talk showson mtv, and many of the musical guests were hard rock bands, Warrant was one of them, and Femme Fatalle was another

I can remember Dial MTV, for a while it was either Crue's "Without You" or KISS's "Forever" having the #1 spot on that show

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Regular VH1 is airing reruns of "SNL", though mostly from the past decade. Ironically, Comedy Central used to air "SNL" in the 1990's.

It would be refreshing if it airs on VH1 Classic (musical guests and there's some music themed sketches). TV Land is mainly  "Roseanne" & "Andy Griffith" with some original programming. Should it return to Comedy Central?  Honestly, it's too good for that channel...

Reelz Channel could air it, though the channel have been airing sitcoms & dramas lately. 

[Out of the Blue]

Things changed in '92/'93 when a new regime took over MTV, and the people in charge decided against playing rock videos. It had very little to do with changing musical tastes by the general public, because at that time, Skid Row was still the most requested band on MTV and they didn't care. They refused to play them and pushed grunge down our throats instead. It was an executive decision. Adam Curry was there at the time and talked about it once on the Howard Stern Show. People like to re-write history and say grunge killed hair metal, which is absolutely false. New executives at MTV killed metal.

Whomever wrote that got it right because that's exactly what happened.  The change was sudden and dramatic.  I never really liked Adam Curry very much but he was dead on right about what happened at MTV at that time.  I was in my early 20s and all of a sudden I felt completely out of touch with what MTV was playing.  That shouldn't happen until someone is in their 30s at the earliest and that just showed the very dramatic change that happened then.

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I recall on the Jump the Shark site that many also criticized MTV for overexposed rap and dismiised "Yo! MTV Raps".

 

Though personally, MTV was for trendy teenagers (ie "TRL") and focused too much on non music programming (ie extreme sports, fashion, reality shows, etc). Though had to admit that I liked several of the animated shows...

[Woops]

Cartoon Network just canned their first hour long tween drama "Unnatural History". Though few of their other  live action dreck (the Andrew WK hosted show when contestants build & destroys stuff) are still on...


Never watched it since I'm way over the demographic & never found it appealing. It's a mystery that takes place at a boarding school. 

Guessing tough competition from Disney Channel & Nick. Though Cartoon Network never had a "SpongeBob" or "Hanna Montana" size hit and close probably would be "Powerpuff Girls" over a decade ago.


"Regular Show", an animated sitcom with a blue jay & raccoon, is OK, though most of their shows are unwatchable and they hardly air anything over a decade old for whatever reason besides "Tom & Jerry" (sans other MGM shorts).


"Adult Swim" is a wasted opportunity. It'll be in it's 10th anniversary next year and Adult Swim will start an hour earlier at 9:00 PM.

[Woops]

Cartoon Network won't air Looney Tunes on New Years like it did for the past two years...

Not really suprising considering that nothing aired on Bugs Bunny's 70th and that they temporarily aired Looney Tunes on weekday mornings for less than two months last year.

[Woops]

Antenna will replace This TV


Well, rarely seen Columbia/UPA cartoons are a plus and Pink Panther cartoons are shown on Boomerang & a Spanish station. Not to mention I have the DVDs. Though the theme song from the tv show & bridging sequences aren't included. 

Antenna will feature tv shows & movies owned by Sony.

[Out of the Blue]

I just started getting This TV about a year ago.  I never watch it though.