On the 31st December 2025, MTV UK played their final music video. In MTV Music’s case, that video was ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ by The Buggles, which was, fittingly, also the first ever music video shown on MTV US when it launched on the 1st August 1981. All this to say that this demise has made me think nostalgically about the joy I got from MTV in the 90s and early ’00s.
My favourite channel of all was MTV2, which turned into MTV Rocks in 2010, but in truth lost a lot of its unique charm a few years before. While MTV2 was indie and rock-focused, the occasional americana gem would slip through that would help to build the foundation for my love of the genre; one of those rare finds was Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’. The music video seemed to be in pretty heavy rotation at the turn of the millennium, but the Classic Clip I’m going to highlight here is Buckley performing the song during an appearance he made on MTV US’s ‘120 Minutes’ in 1995. It’s powerful, raw, and frankly, it leaves the music video in its dust.
Because the thing is, MTV wasn’t just about music videos; they also used to also air exclusive performances and even host live music events, all of which are gone now that all that is left of the brand is the main channel with its endless repeats of Catfish and the other TV programmes they now show in lieu of championing actual music.
So in 2026, there’s still a good argument to say that video did kill the radio star – but as it turns out, YouTube was the culprit and not MTV.
