<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every few months the industry seems to rediscover the same argument: music television has lost its relevance because viewers now watch clips on YouTube and listen to music on Spotify and similar services.<\/p>\n
The conclusion sounds logical, yet it rests on a narrow interpretation of how people actually use their TVs and how they consume music.<\/p>\n
It is true that the arrival of YouTube 20 years ago reshaped the category. Music channels, instead of adapting, gradually reduced the share of music and moved into reality formats. The result was predictable: audiences drifted elsewhere [1]. But this does not mean that the underlying idea of a curated, continuous music stream has become obsolete. It simply means the format stalled while the rest of the market kept evolving.<\/p>\n
The narrative about \u201cdeclining linear TV\u201d is valid, but it hides an important nuance. Connected TV usage keeps rising across Europe and the United States. At the same time, YouTube reports hundreds of millions of hours of content consumed on connected screens each day, what is a significant portion of it music videos [2].<\/p>\n
In other words: viewers did not abandon the TV screen as a place for music, they just couldn\u2019t find a relevent content on music channels.<\/p>\n
A recurring misconception is that if viewers have YouTube, Spotify or TikTok, they no longer need a linear music service. This misses the fundamental point. Modern music consumption is built around\u00a0playlists [3], not albums, as it had been earlier. Moreover, most users rely on curation (editorial or algorithmic), rather building their own playlists after hours of content serfing.<\/p>\n
A well-designed music channel functions in exactly that space. It offers a stable, recognisable flow with a clear mood or genre logic. Moreover, IPTV\/OTT platforms provide users with such functions, as \u201cPause\u201d, \u201cTime Shift\u201d, giving the viewer even more control on the playlist playback, than a freemium version of Spotify, so the old argument about \u201clack of control\u201d is weaker than it once was. Meanwhile, channels usually refresh their playlists every day, which is not always the case with playlists on streamings.<\/p>\n
The visual layer matters as well. Music videos are not incidental content. They shape the listening experience and create atmosphere. Bars, caf\u00e9s, co-working spaces and households increasingly use CTV for background entertainment that must be consistent and unobtrusive. A continuous music stream fits that use case far better than a sequence of ads interrupting every clip on ad-supported platforms.<\/p>\n
For music to deliver real value on TV platforms, the channel offering has to be built with intent.<\/p>\n
First, there needs to be a balanced selection across genres and styles. This doesn\u2019t mean adding endless options, but giving space to core categories with clearly defined identities. The goal is to reflect how people actually listen \u2014 across moods, times of day, and genre preferences.<\/p>\n
Second, meaningful variety matters. Even two channels that look similar at first glance can offer very different vibes. One may focus on fast-paced chart hits, the other on slower, more curated selections. This gives viewers real choice depending on their mood or context.<\/p>\n
While reading this, you may ask: if music television is still relevant and effective for TV platforms, then why is MTV pulling out?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a fair question. But in reality, this doesn\u2019t signal the end of music television \u2014 it reflects a shift in priorities by one media group. With a large and diverse portfolio, such companies naturally focus on assets that generate the highest margins. That doesn\u2019t mean the market for music content on TV has disappeared. The demand is still there. People still listen to music \u2014 the question is who will step in to serve it, and how make TV a convinient media for music conumption.<\/p>\n
A new wave of music services is rethinking what a music TV channel should be. Music Box is one of the networks working in this space. Its channels are built around curated playlists designed specifically for lean-back CTV viewing. Instead of relying solely on automated systems, editorial teams maintain the flow and adjust rotations with attention to pacing and emotional continuity. This hybrid approach, ie, human curation supported by analytics, is closer to how people consume playlists today.<\/p>\n
Another area of reinvention is visual quality. A large part of global music catalogues exists only in older SD masters. Music Box and several other networks have invested in upscaling workflows to make these videos suitable for modern HD screens. The improvement in picture quality alone changes how viewers perceive \u201clegacy\u201d content.<\/p>\n
If we look at the broader CTV trends \u2014 fatigue from constant choice [4], rising use of passive viewing modes, stable interest in music videos [5], and the continued dominance of playlists \u2014 the return of music television is not surprising. The format solves a practical problem: it provides a curated, predictable, uninterrupted flow of music on the screen viewers already use for video.<\/p>\n
Music television does not compete with streaming giants in functionality or catalogue size. It competes in user experience. And in that space, the format has clear room to grow \u2014 as long as it reflects how people listen to music today, not twenty years ago.<\/p>\n
Importantly, today\u2019s listeners rarely rely on a single platform. According to IFPI\u2019s data, people use an average of more than\u00a0seven different methods [6]\u00a0to interact with music \u2014 from audio streaming and video platforms to radio, social media, and live performance. This multi-channel behaviour opens space for music television to claim a distinctive role, especially on the big screen.<\/p>\n
**<\/p>\n
[1] The Guardian (2025).\u00a0\u2018No one makes money from them\u2019: with MTV channels switching off, is the music video under threat?\u00a0(Analysis of MTV\u2019s shift from music to reality programming like\u00a0Catfish\u00a0and\u00a0Geordie Shore);\u00a0PMA Magazine. The MTV Phenomenon: Changing the Tune of the Music Industry.<\/p>\n
[2] Global Media Insight \/ YouTube Official Data (2025).\u00a0YouTube Statistics: Users now watch over 1 billion hours of YouTube content on TV screens every day.;\u00a0Paramount Insights (2024).\u00a0Connected TV Viewership Trends: Over 85% of U.S. households now have at least one CTV device.<\/p>\n
[3] IFPI (global consumer study): when choosing music, \u201cOwn playlists\u201d is used more than \u201cSpecific albums\u201d (59% vs 42%)<\/p>\n
[4]NewscastStudio (2025).\u00a0Streaming surges but linear TV also sees growth.\u00a0(Report on viewer fatigue with on-demand choices and a return to linear formats);\u00a0Amagi Global FAST Report (2024).\u00a0FAST channels continue to find viewers.<\/p>\n
[5] Music Business Worldwide \/ Luminate (2025).\u00a0Global audio streams jumped 14% in 2024 to 4.8 trillion.\u00a0(Data confirming video remains a massive component of music discovery);\u00a0Vevo (2024).\u00a0Vevo\u2019s Robust Reach and CTV Programming\u00a0(Vevo reaches 33 million viewers daily on CTV).<\/p>\n
[6] \u00a0IFPI: https:\/\/www.ifpi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/IFPI-Engaging-With-Music-2023_Highlights-infographic-poster-1.pdf<\/p>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.broadbandtvnews.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 Every few months the industry seems to rediscover the same argument: music television has lost its relevance because viewers now watch clips on YouTube and listen to music on Spotify and similar services. The conclusion sounds logical, yet it rests on a narrow interpretation of how people actually use their TVs and how they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2209658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2209657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Music-TV-After-MTV-\u2013-Not-the-End-but-a.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2209657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2209657"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2209657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2209659,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2209657\/revisions\/2209659"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2209658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2209657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2209657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2209657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}