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MTV Divides Gen X Fans With Unexpected Announcement
MTV Divides Gen X Fans With Unexpected Announcement originally appeared on Parade.
It's been a common refrain among Gen Xers (and elder Millennials) for years: "Remember when MTV used to play actual music?" Now it seems the iconic network is finally listening to the complaints of their earliest audiences — but not everybody is convinced.
In a press release this week, it was announced that MTV will air a week of 24/7 music videos across MTV2, MTV Live and MTV Classic leading up to the 2025 Music Video Awards on Sunday, Sept. 7. According to the release, the selections will include "both classic and current" videos "in a revival of the brand's early DNA reimagined for today's audiences," curated by "past VMA winners and legendary MTV personalities."
In the comments on an Instagram post sharing the news, some fans seemed thrilled to hear about the planned programming switch, while others remained skeptical.
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"MTV will make the greatest comeback if they went back to music videos," one person declared.
"This should be ALL THE TIME," agreed a second commenter, adding, "The 90s were lit with music videos!!! That's how it should be! 'Music television' 🤦🏾♀️"
"Or here's an idea…they could just do it permanently to get all that viewership back," somebody quipped, with another fan rejoicing, "Gen X is here for our first babysitter 😂"
"But is it 80s and 90s? Because if it's current music, no gracias," declared a nostalgia-hungry music lover, as others offered their suggestions.
"'Video Killed the Radio Star' should be the first again," one fan pointed out, referring to the first-ever music video played by MTV in 1981 (for a song by The Buggles).
"Take On Me by A-ha ❤️," added another commenter, with still more people name-checking such classic MTV staples as "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits, "Thriller" by Michael Jackson, "Touch of Grey" by the Grateful Dead and "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer, among others.
Whether or not MTV's throwback experiment will be a hit with viewers remains to be seen, but hopes are high for this year's VMAs, which will see the return of producer and CEO of digital media company Gunpowder & Sky (linked to such iconic VMAs moments as Beyoncé's pregnancy reveal and the Madonna-Britney Spears-Christina Aguilera kiss).
"We're not just producing a show. We're launching a celebration of music that spans one week, every screen and every generation," Gunpowder & Sky CEO Van Toffler said in the press release.
The VMAs are scheduled to air live on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. ET on both CBS and MTV, and will be available to stream on Paramount+.MTV Divides Gen X Fans With Unexpected Announcement first appeared on Parade on Jun 27, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
