Music Television is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks, a division of ViacomCBS.
The channel originally aired music videos and related programming as guided by television personalities known as video jockeys. In the years since its inception, it significantly toned down its focus on music in favor of original reality programming for teenagers and young adults.
MTV has spawned numerous sister channels in the US and affiliated channels internationally, some of which have gone independent. Approximately 90.6 million households in the United States receive MTV as of January 2016.
Programming
As MTV expanded, music videos and VJ-guided programming were no longer the centerpiece of its programming. The channel's programming has covered a wide variety of genres and formats aimed at adolescents and young adults. In addition to its original programming, MTV has also aired original and syndicated programs from ViacomCBS-owned siblings and third-party networks.
MTV is also a producer of films aimed at young adults through its production label, MTV Films, and has aired both its own theatrically-released films and original made-for-television movies from MTV Studios in addition to acquired films.
In 2010, a study by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation found that of 207.5 hours of prime time programming on MTV, 42% included content reflecting the lives of gay, bisexual and transgender people. This was the highest in the industry and the highest percentage ever.
In 2018, MTV launched a new production unit under the "MTV Studios" name focused on producing new versions of MTV's library shows.
