MTV

MTV is a television channel ostensibly devoted to popular rock, rap, and other music videos, though it is actually a station showing a variety of material for adolescents. Its name is an acronym for Music TeleVision. MTV started in New York City in 1981 and became available in most of the United States in the late 1980s. In the second half of the 1990s, MTV concentrated on non-music programming.

A large number of rock stars of the 1980s and 1990s were made household names by MTV. 1980s bands immediately identifiable with MTV include Duran Duran and Bon Jovi. Madonna rose to fime on MTV in the 1980s, and she is still heavily dependent on the network to promote her music.

MTV is now available across the globe in various regionalized formats (although often sharing a degree of programming). The advent of digital satellite has also brought greater diversity including channels such as MTV2 (more alternative) and MTV Dance (concentrating on dance music). The MTV organisation is also behind VH1 which is aimed at the older market segements with more retro music.

Aptly, the first music video shown on MTV was "Video Killed The Radio Star", by The Buggles. The video was directed by Russel Mulcahy.

MTV started of showing mostly music videos, and as time has passed they have introduced a variety of shows, including the cartoons, such as Beavis and Butthead and Daria, the 'reality' shows such as The Real World and Road Rules, prank/comedic shows such as The Tom Green Show, Buzzkill and Jackass, sitcoms such Undressed and the ever so successful TRL.

Since the dawning of MTV, fresh faced young men and women were hired to host the show's programming and, initially, to introduce videos that were being played. The term "VJ" (video jockey) was coined, a play on the term "DJ" (disc jockey.) These individuals eventually became celebrities in their own rite.