I miss old MTV... What the HELL Happened???

I miss the days when I would turn on MTV or M2 and see actual music videos. Now I turn on MTV and all I see is reality shows that don't just numb my brain, but take one brain cell after another. Who is responsible for this travesty and why did it have to change? I used to watch MTV all the time, just play it as background noise,... but now I skip right over it. I can't take the reality TV shows anymore. Does MTV still attract as many viewers as it used to? I miss Liquid Television, I miss all the videos, and I wish they'd start airing a channel sort of like Nick-at-Nite, but for MTV from the 80's and 90's.

While I'm at it, I'd also like to complain about the Discovery channel. Is it just me, or do they air less and less educational programming? Every time I turn it on I see some kind of reality TV show about truck drivers, or fishermen, or people building big things, or chopping down trees. Don't get me wrong, they're sort of interesting in their own right, but I'd like to see more on science, physics, biology, geography, culture and the like.

I also have beef with the History channel. It seems they love to air gobbledygook as of late. As entertaining as some of it is, I'd love to see some quality programming on legitimate archaeological finds, something that doesn't involve Hitler for once, and it would be nice if they didn't use questionable characters as "experts" on certain topics. Since when is the title "author" synonymous with "expert"??? I can write a book on my opinion of UFOs from the 5th dimension, but that won't make me an expert worthy of air time on a "documentary" about UFOs.

I swear, this is a war on intelligence. They're out to destroy it by any means possible. Don't tell me this is what people want. Everyone needs one of those -I'm-ready-to-zone-out- shows once in a while,... but now it seems almost every channel is compromised,... even the ones reserved for the people who still desire to learn something. I find myself turning the TV on and muting it 10 minutes later. It just doesn't seem to have anything to offer me anymore.

Some of you might say "go read a book instead". Yeah.... books are nice and I enjoy reading them, but I also like to see things in action, and TV could be a great tool to learn faster. Besides.... I like to multitask. I like to have the TV on in the background while I work, and always hope for some good programming to learn something or find inspiration.

They used to have this channel called "the box" or something that played nothing but music videos and people could pay 1 dollar to request a video. Oddly at midnight it turned into a free porn channel.

reply to post by Autodidactic


I heard of that one, but didn't know about the free porn.

reply to post by 2manyquestions

Actually, MTV started adding more reality TV shows to increase their ratings.
They also removed "Music Television" from it's previous name "MTV: Music television.
I personally don't like reality TV, but the majority of regular viewers do.

As for the Discovery Channel and History Channel, I like the changes.

reply to post by 2manyquestions


What i am about to say ruined MTV....




Real World and Jersey Shore.

Originally posted by GmoS719
reply to post by 2manyquestions

 

Actually, MTV started adding more reality TV shows to increase their ratings.
They also removed "Music Television" from it's previous name "MTV: Music television.
I personally don't like reality TV, but the majority of regular viewers do.

As for the Discovery Channel and History Channel, I like the changes.

I dont get it, what is the beef with Meh TV ?

I remember that song by dire straits... they referenced something called MTV - back then M was Music.

Crazy how the alhlabeticals change...

Meh TV, you're punked, kutchered or blahed into an absolute catanonic state. then.. ohboy it's alll groovvy..

reply to post by 2manyquestions


Go you one better. There was a time when "CABLE" meant Gill Cable and a box on your TV that cost 15.00 a month. There were 4 channels:

The "G" channel - unedited movies back to back.
CNN...
MTV - back to back music videos only
ESPN - sporting events around the world

There were NO commercial interruptions. That was the idea. Thats why you payed for the service. It was commercial free.

Originally posted by Ha`la`tha

Originally posted by GmoS719
reply to post by 2manyquestions

 

Actually, MTV started adding more reality TV shows to increase their ratings.
They also removed "Music Television" from it's previous name "MTV: Music television.
I personally don't like reality TV, but the majority of regular viewers do.

As for the Discovery Channel and History Channel, I like the changes.

I dont get it, what is the beef with Meh TV ?

I remember that song by dire straits... they referenced something called MTV - back then M was Music.

Crazy how the alhlabeticals change...

Meh TV, you're punked, kutchered or blahed into an absolute catanonic state. then.. ohboy it's alll groovvy..

Do they even show punked on MTV anymore?

Answer: Greed



It ruins everything good in life...

Originally posted by Bonkrh
reply to post by 2manyquestions

 

What i am about to say ruined MTV....




Real World and Jersey Shore.

edit on 21-10-2011 by Bonkrh because: (no reason given)

JERSEY SHORE COMES FROM THAT?

GOD FU****NG DAMN IT... GTFO!!!!

I feel a little bit more death every time I take longer than 1 second to hit the channel when that crap is on... jesus christ...

It makes listening to AM radio all the more appealing.. 6PR, here I come..

god almighty, we dont get the affiliation here, we just get the rubbish, un packaged from the deal, so MTV is to blame...

hrrrhrhrhrhrhr -- to paraphrase sideshow bob hitting a rake..

Originally posted by Bonkrh
reply to post by 2manyquestions

 

What i am about to say ruined MTV....




Real World and Jersey Shore.

edit on 21-10-2011 by Bonkrh because: (no reason given)

MTV was ruined way before Jersey Shore came along.
Their is a 10 year gap between the shows you named.
So which one is it?

Originally posted by GmoS719

Originally posted by Ha`la`tha

Originally posted by GmoS719
reply to post by 2manyquestions

 

Actually, MTV started adding more reality TV shows to increase their ratings.
They also removed "Music Television" from it's previous name "MTV: Music television.
I personally don't like reality TV, but the majority of regular viewers do.

As for the Discovery Channel and History Channel, I like the changes.

We're a little behind down here, don't forget it takes usually 1-2 years for things to tricken down to us - less now that we're in the 'DIGITAL' age..

I dont get it, what is the beef with Meh TV ?

I remember that song by dire straits... they referenced something called MTV - back then M was Music.

Crazy how the alhlabeticals change...

Meh TV, you're punked, kutchered or blahed into an absolute catanonic state. then.. ohboy it's alll groovvy..

Do they even show punked on MTV anymore?

I dunno, I dont have foxtel,

I still suffer free to air, which I might add, has the caveat that if it stinks, it's gone... sadly everything stinks, so by default, all the damn good shows are gone.. it's the garbage that attracts attention

I work in the entertainment media and as part of my job often have to analyze programming across networks ... and i hear people say "where's the music video's" with regard to MTV all of the time... let me explain...

Television is a business, all media is a business, and they (with the exception of Satellite Radio or Premium Cable (ie, HBO, Showtime, etc)) are fully funded by ad sales dollars which are based on ratings. Their programming is their product, and unless their product is worth money, they're not going to produce it.

Music video blocks simply no longer rate, in fact, they rate awfully, no matter what time of day they air. It's a simple cost benefit analysis. Paying for the HUGE music marketing rights to air a music video trumps that of the proportional ad sales revenue that the music video would bring in due to lack of ratings. Would you air something that made you LOSE money? Of course not.

Furthermore, you have to consider, the way people ingest music has changed drastically in the past 5, 10 and 15 years. Think about it...honestly, how do you ingest music?

I know that when i was a kid, 15-20 years ago, i would come home from school and turn on MTV to catch TRL and find out what the newest songs were going to be -- it was a ritual, and it was the source for music for my generation. We didn't have iPods, high speed internet, social networks ... things were very different. TRL, and the evening radio was the ONLY way we got the newest music (which was crucial in being cool for a school kid!)

Now --and be honest - how do you "discover" music? Do you no longer listen to music b/c you don't see videos on TV? C'mon! Even if there was a daily block of music videos on MTV, VH1, Fuse, etc... would you really watch and "discover"? Of course not. We ingest music on demand. No one likes to tune in when they have to, we like the freedom of checking out the iTunes top 10, or reading blogs, or checking our "likes" on facebook.

Amazon, iTunes, The social networking game and Google has changed everything. The internet is the most powerful weapon in music's history. The record industry (labels) cry that their bottom lines are hurting due to illegal downloads ... but they ripped of consumers and artists for years. Now, the artists have more exposure than ever, and it's almost ALL online. An artists doesn't need their music videos played on MTV or VH1 to be blindingly successful. Revenue from tours are through the roof b/c the paradigm has changed. Artists don't produced to sell a million records any more, they produce to sell out a 100 shows, that's where the real money (and satisfaction) is. Thanks to social networking they get to interact freely with their fans and spread the word more efficiently when they're coming to town for a show.

....And with regards to their other programming ...come on, don't act like you haven't gotten sucked into a True Life or Sweet 16 marathon ... or for that matter, a Mythbuster's marathon on Discovery, or a Best Thing I Ever Ate marathon on the Food Network.

Every television station, no matter what their area of focus, is tasked with the same challenge... keep and HOLD the viewers attention... and again, think about music videos ... what do you do if you hear a song you hate on the radio? you change the station. that's the LAST thing a TV station wants its viewership to do.

Entertainment media is all about pop culture and engaging the core demographic that the entity has identified. It's all about who has the ability to create pop culture. That's why shows like Jersey Shore (love it or hate it) do so incredibly well. It's the Howard Stern affect -- people who love the show watch it, and people who HATE the show watch it, and it equates to massive ratings.

MTV only ever showed crappy bands signed by new world order record labels. Artist like Mozart exist but they have never been presented threw the tv or any kind of main stream media. Every TV channel is in their control. You will learn over time.

After thinking about it for a min also I think more then greed or anything else that the internet has ruined the TV channel MTV or rather then ruined it I guess you would say started to replace the need to have a TV channel just for music when you couldn't control what music you are hearing...

With the introduction of the internet and MTV.com you can choose what you listen to/what more so then if you were watching the TV.... So Really I would think MTV was just smart enough to decide that they were fighting a losing battle (look at VH1 same thing) and try to make original programming for the 16-25 crowd that they already had an audience to and slowly switch to having shows rather then having music videos.

Originally posted by Bonkrh
reply to post by 2manyquestions

 

What i am about to say ruined MTV....




Real World and Jersey Shore.

edit on 21-10-2011 by Bonkrh because: (no reason given)

The Real World started the downfall, and Jersey Shore some years later took it to a whole new level. I can't imagine what kind of garbage will follow Jersey Shore. I fear for our youth...... not that I'm old.

i was in the eighth grade and i called up the cable company and got cable just for mtv.my mom was astonished.i told her to take it out of my allowance or i would mow lawns to pay for it.
they destroy all channels that we get hooked on.the drug is enlightenment.nothing but garbage now.i was a news junky until last year when i finally got internet.now its ats and drudge.i wont spend a dime on dish.almost gave up on ats when the kids got on it this summer.its finally gaining some strength in my life again.gave up fb two weeks ago.last year i had 700 friends i could post to all at once.mark z screwed himself with the changes and again with the privacy cookies.and if ats keeps shutting down real threads of top secret stuff and being a hardass i will ditch them too.couple weeks ago a guy posted a new stealth plane.i downloaded it before they killed the thread.that almost ruined me.tptb are killing enlightenment.

Originally posted by intrptr
reply to post by 2manyquestions

 

Go you one better. There was a time when "CABLE" meant Gill Cable and a box on your TV that cost 15.00 a month. There were 4 channels:

The "G" channel - unedited movies back to back.
CNN...
MTV - back to back music videos only
ESPN - sporting events around the world

There were NO commercial interruptions. That was the idea. Thats why you payed for the service. It was commercial free.

Exactly. I'm often angered at the fact that cable channels are selling their air time twice. The viewer pays and the advertiser pays. Sometimes, these channels even have the nerve to sell full blocks for infomercials. Doesn't matter, though. The regular programming is no better. As for EmptyV, it had it's day, but I don't miss it. If it was still showing videos today, I would hate the music and videos they would air anyway.

The best show that used to be on MTV was that game show where you would answer questions and throw a foam brick at the categories..
Or something like that, I just remember it looking kool and fun.

Originally posted by AJ1123TKE
I work in the entertainment media and as part of my job often have to analyze programming across networks ... and i hear people say "where's the music video's" with regard to MTV all of the time... let me explain...

Television is a business, all media is a business, and they (with the exception of Satellite Radio or Premium Cable (ie, HBO, Showtime, etc)) are fully funded by ad sales dollars which are based on ratings. Their programming is their product, and unless their product is worth money, they're not going to produce it.

You make a good point, but let me just say I'd be willing to pay for a music-video-only channel much like I pay for Showtime or HBO. My cable bill (includes internet) comes to about $120.00 a month. It's a ridiculous price, especially because I don't care about most of the channels that are bundled with the ones I'm prone to watch. Sometimes I question my sanity for wasting so much money on something that's so out of touch with my interests, but hey.... that's another story. Netflix and Apple TV might soon be the only things I'm willing to pay for, seeing as Cable TV is becoming more brain-dead by the day. The quality selection is dwindling and the commercials seem to drag on longer than before.

Music video blocks simply no longer rate, in fact, they rate awfully, no matter what time of day they air. It's a simple cost benefit analysis. Paying for the HUGE music marketing rights to air a music video trumps that of the proportional ad sales revenue that the music video would bring in due to lack of ratings. Would you air something that made you LOSE money? Of course not.

No, I guess I wouldn't air something that would lose me money, but maybe I'd try to reinvent it. If not, I'd at least rename the damned thing to "RTV" so that it would be clear as to it's contents.

Now --and be honest - how do you "discover" music? Do you no longer listen to music b/c you don't see videos on TV? C'mon! Even if there was a daily block of music videos on MTV, VH1, Fuse, etc... would you really watch and "discover"? Of course not. We ingest music on demand. No one likes to tune in when they have to, we like the freedom of checking out the iTunes top 10, or reading blogs, or checking our "likes" on facebook.

I used to find new music through MTV and the radio. Sometimes it was by word of mouth, and sometimes it was by accident when I walked into a club and some band I never heard of was playing. No, I can't say I've found new bands through Facebook or MySpace,... at least not bands who's music I'd want to purchase. Radio, clubs and word of mouth is where I find my source for music nowadays.

Amazon, iTunes, The social networking game and Google has changed everything. The internet is the most powerful weapon in music's history.

What's wrong with videos on TV + social networking? Obviously I'm not in the music industry, but I know what I'd like to see. Maybe I'm the minority in this respect, but that's how I see it.

....And with regards to their other programming ...come on, don't act like you haven't gotten sucked into a True Life or Sweet 16 marathon ... or for that matter, a Mythbuster's marathon on Discovery, or a Best Thing I Ever Ate marathon on the Food Network.

Yes, of course I've watched these shows at some point, but they lose my interest very quickly. I don't find them rewarding, I find them to be fake and annoying. I like frosting, but it doesn't mean I want to eat 100 pounds of it. I'm fed up with them, and I long for something more 'nutritious'. They make me change the channel or turn the TV off.

Every television station, no matter what their area of focus, is tasked with the same challenge... keep and HOLD the viewers attention... and again, think about music videos ... what do you do if you hear a song you hate on the radio? you change the station. that's the LAST thing a TV station wants its viewership to do.

Some people change the station, and I bare through it until the next song comes on. Either that, or I change it back when the song is over.

Entertainment media is all about pop culture and engaging the core demographic that the entity has identified. It's all about who has the ability to create pop culture. That's why shows like Jersey Shore (love it or hate it) do so incredibly well. It's the Howard Stern affect -- people who love the show watch it, and people who HATE the show watch it, and it equates to massive ratings.

I dislike the show and I don't watch it. Generally I don't watch things I dislike to watch, call me crazy. I haven't tuned into MTV in months for reasons I mentioned in my OP. I avoid these channels, because I know I won't find anything of quality. I guess you gain a few and lose a few.