As MTV Became A Business Success, It Created A Big Number Of Stars Whose Careers Would Have Been Totally Different Without The Exposure.
Cable channel MTV turns thirty today and I suspect it’s improbable that any article noting the event will be in a position to resist the urge to include some rant about the lack of music videos on the network.
In principle, I understand the grumbles. I watched the network from its earliest days and there was something enchanting about discovering some artist or song thanks to the video. As MTV became a commercial success, it made a big number of stars whose careers would have been completely different without the exposure. Sure, performers like Paula Abdul owe their careers to MTV, but it’s tough to imagine what the careers of musicians like Michael Jackson would’ve been without the video exposure.
But from the earliest years of the network, MTV pursued a tactic of making original, non-musical programming. And when they made that call, it was inevitable that the successfulness of that programming would push the music off the primary MTV Network.
There are good business reasons for opting not to play music videos on a channel that was initially branded as a music network. No cable channel wants to be in a scenario where their achievement is reliant on access to content being made by 3rd parties. In pretty much the same way that HBO and Showtime began making original programming as a method to offset the aggressive dealmaking of the movie studios, MTV moved towards original programming so they wouldn’t be dependent on the whims of the music labels.
I suspect things might have been subtley different if MTV had been owned by a media company that also owned a music label. But without warranted access to music videos, MTV had no alternative than to move towards original programming.
Granted, MTV failed to always have to select the programming mix that it did. But because it’s owned by Viacom, which approaches its multiple wire channels the way Clear Channel programs its radio stations, programming calls are usually as much about playing to the network’s target demo as anything else.
That pressure from the sales side is also why you see things like Viacom-owned flicks pop up in primetime slots. Their cost is close to free, and its simple for a sales staff to sell a block of films displaying across all of the Viacom Networks.
At the end of the day, MTV is a business. And it’s difficult to prove with the grounds that whether or not it airs music videos, it’s been an exceptionally successful network. So while I ache for the videos (and the VJs), I am ten years past making snide remarks about the absence of music on MTV.
But as MTV turns thirty, I do stress about the corrosive effect its programming has on kids.
Fretting about such things possibly seems quaint to most audiences (and TV critics) at this juncture. MTV obviously has got the right to air what it wants, how it wants. The fact that many of its shows are successful illustrates there is an audience for them.
But because discussion sells, MTV has made this vision of American teens that often highlights the very worst of what we will be. MTV isn’t displaying Teen Mom because they hope to persuade teen spectators not to become pregnant. In fact , the essential message of the show is “hey, it will be okay.” Seeing girls who have shown up on Teen Mom splashed across mag covers at the local supermarket is morally wrong on so many levels I could write a book about it and still just scratch the surface. The fact that versions of jersey Shore air around the world makes me more sad than happy with the network’s programming ability.
What fears me as MTV turns thirty is that for many American kids, Viacom has as much influence on their lives as college or chums. From Nick Jr’s preschool programming through Nick’s animated shows through Teen Nick and MTV, Viacom rules the popular culture landscape of America’s youth.
I won’t claim anyone is noxious. Most of the programming calls have more to do with sales opportunities and audience share than cultural impact. But at age thirty, MTV should be considering such things, and it looks clear to anyone that watches the network that the morality of what they air is barely a concern,writes tagza.com.
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