MTV Global
MTV Global is the international version of the American TV channel MTV as 24-hour music video and entertainment pay television network officially launched on 1 August 1987 as part of the worldwide MTV network.
Over the years, MTV Global has been divided into several different channels for certain countries. Most countries in Europe, Asia, Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean now have their own versions of the channel, and therefore MTV Global is now mostly available in those countries where there is no localised version of MTV.
Initially, the channel were included music channels, but on 31 December 2025 when those channels ceased broadcasting. In 2026, MTV Global began directing content focused exclusively on entertainment and reality shows.
Initially, MTV served all regions of Europe, being one of the few TV channels focused on the entire European market. At the moment, MTV serves a number of European countries along Asian, Oceanian, Middle Eastern, and Caribbean territories.
History
1986–1987: Preparation for the launch
In January 1986, MTV Networks Europe was established. The company included: owner of the MTV brand - Viacom, Mirror Group Newspapers, and British Telecom. The same three companies had already been part of another joint venture — Premiere Partnership — from 1984 to 1989, and operated the television channels Premiere and Home Video Channel in the United Kingdom. Paramount acquired the remaining stakes from Maxwell and BT in 1990–1991, thereby becoming the sole owner of MTV Networks Europe.In December 1986, the launch of the MTV Europe was announced. Initially, the launch of the television channel was planned for April 1987. Later, the date was postponed to August 15; however, the launch was then moved forward to August 1.
In January 1987, MTV Networks Europe began recruiting VJs The first auditions and filming took place in May.
In June 1987, AIR TV, a company within the Chrysalis Group, provided the channel with technical broadcasting equipment.
1987–1996: Launch of the channel and expansion across countries
On 1 August 1987 at 00:01 BST, MTV Europe started broadcasting, with British musician Elton John turning on the signal from Amsterdam, NL. The first music video shown was Money for Nothing by Dire Straits. The beginning and end of the video were supplemented with the slogan "I want my MTV", voiced by Sting. For the launch, the channel organized a party at the Roxy club in Amsterdam; many stars were invited, such as Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden, Fish from Marillion, Terence Trent D'Arby, etc., the main guest and presenter was Elton John. The TV channel's office is still located in London.The channel was launched in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden; a year later MTV Europe expanded to West Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece and Norway. At launch, the channel was available in 1.6 million households, increasing to 3.6 million subscribers by August 1988; by year's end, it had reached 6.7 million households.
The original line-up of VJs included presenters from Belgium, Denmark and France, as well as Ray Cokes and Steve Blame from the UK. MTV popularized the use of the term VJ to describe music TV presenters.
Programs as MTV's Greatest Hits, Headbanger's Ball, MTV's Most Wanted, The Big Picture, The Pulse, 120 Minutes and MTV Coca-Cola Report were produced.
In February 1988, MTV Europe moved to the Camden Town area at 20-23 Mandela St.
In October of the same year, MTV Europe management visited the Soviet Union for preliminary negotiations on bringing the channel there. At the same time, an application for registration of the TV channel was submitted.
In 1989, MTV Europe covered the Moscow Music Festival live from the Lenin Stadium. At the same time, the TV channel started in East Berlin, East Germany, the same day as the dissolution of the East German cabinet. 10 million subscribers across Europe were now picking the channel. Soviet artists officially debuted on MTV in the summer of 1989. The Moscow group "Kruiz" released the Hit for MTV manifesto song at the same time.
In February 1990, MTV Europe was launched in Poland and Czechoslovakia. In the same year, the channel expanded beyond Europe, launching in Israel. A British winner got Madonna's gold stage costume designer for her Blonde Ambition tour in a competition held by the channel; other such cases included a 50-year old Yugoslavian winning a Harley-Davidson that was owned by Billy Idol and a winner receiving radio station.
In early 1991, Metromedia International Group together with Lencentel signed a contract with MTV Europe for five years, the first contract for broadcasting a foreign channel signed in the USSR. On March 8, 1991, the channel began broadcasting in Leningrad, and later in other major cities, which made it possible to become the first Western 24-hour channel broadcast in the USSR.
American rock band Nirvana led the rapid transition to the rise of alternative rock and grunge on MTV in 1991, releasing a music video for the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. In the early-mid-1990s, MTV added hip-hop rappers with a less pop sound to its rotation, such as Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, Ice Cube, Warren G, Ice-T, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg.
In August 1991, MTV Europe broadcast the MTV 10 special, for the tenth anniversary of its US parent.
By 1992, MTV Networks Europe had become the largest pan-European broadcasting company. MTV Europe was hosted by 38 million households in 28 countries. In the same year, a teletext called MTV Text appeared on the TV channel, through which you can watch a TV programme, news, charts, participate in contests and communicate with the audience.
From 1989 to 1997, MTV programmes were rebroadcast on Russia's main TV channels – ORT and its predecessors, 2x2, TV-6, Muz-TV and others; also from 1991 to 1996 on the Polish TV channel TVP1.
The channel premiered the following animated programmes: Beavis and Butt-Head, Æon Flux, The Brothers Grunt, etc.
In 1994, the channel started holding the MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony. Every year the ceremony takes place in a major European city. On 1 July 1995, MTV Europe switched to pay TV broadcasting, and was also one of the first channels in Europe to start digital broadcasting.
In September, the channel was fined a total of £60,000 by the UK's Independent Television Commission for showing obscenities, scenes of sadomasochism and similar things at a time of day when youths could be watching. In November of the same year, MTV Europe was hosted by 51.3 million households in 36 countries. At the end of 1995, Chello Zone became the distributor of the channel in Russia
In 1996–1997, two websites were registered – mtve.com and mtveurope.com.
1996–2025: Regionalization and a gradual shift away from music
In September 1996, MTV Europe was split into three broadcast zones:- MTV Northern
- MTV Southern
- MTV Central
MTV Networks Europe rapidly begun to open local divisions of the MTV channel. In March 1997, MTV Germany was launched: the German channel inherited the name MTV Central and kept it for several years. MTV UK & Ireland launched on 1 July, followed by MTV Italy in September.
All three MTV Europe zones were closed, and broadcasting once again became unified
From the end of 1997, MTV gradually reduced the number of rock music videos all broadcast, which skeptics labelled: "Rock is dead." Among the reasons cited for the change are that rock music fans bought less of what they saw advertised on TV. Instead, MTV began to devote its musical airtime mainly to pop and urban music. All rock shows were eliminated, and the rock-related categories at the Video Music Awards were reduced to one.
At the rise of the new millennium, in the period from 1997 to 2001, MTV broadcast animated comedy drama Daria.
MTV Nordic for Scandinavia launched in June 1998, MTV Russia appeared on 25 September. In 2000, other regional channels were launched – MTV France in June, followed by MTV Poland in July and MTV Spain and MTV Nederland in September. MTV Networks Europe continued to launch local channels in other European countries. In the same year, another website appeared – mtv.tv
On April 15, 1999, a fire broke out at the Breakfast complex. Engineers and studio staff aired emergency recordings, after which broadcasting was suspended for several hours. At that time, the complex housed the British and European operations of MTV and VH1.
On 1 April 2002, MTV Europe became MTV European. At the same time, the channel began to abandon some of its programs in favour of American MTV shows. The channel significantly reduced the overall rotation of music videos during the 2000s. Similar trends were observed on other European MTV channels.
In 2004 and 2008, MTV continued to focus on reality shows, releasing projects 8th & Ocean, Laguna Beach, Next, The Hills, Two-A-Days, My Super Sweet 16, Parental Control and Viva la Bam featuring Bam Margera.
In 2007, MTV broadcast the reality show A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, which told about the sensational journey of Tila Tequila in search of her sex partner. Her bisexuality played a role in the concept of the show: both men and women competed for love.
In 2006–07, MTV Turkey and MTV Ukraine were launched. In August 2007, a second office opened in Warsaw, responsible for online operations. The main office remained in London.
On 1 July 2009, during the unified standardization of the design of the global MTV network, a new corporate identity was introduced, as well as a new design.
Since January 2010, MTV Networks Europe has started rebranding localized websites, creating standards for each country. In August, music programmes disappeared from the air, and reality shows from the American branch of MTV began to be shown instead.. Throughout the 2010s, the channel completely phased out advertising.
In 2010, the channel began broadcasting under a Czech license, since the Czech Republic has minimum broadcasting rules, it was chosen for licensing purposes in the EU. The broadcasting centre is still located in London MTV European began to focus on viewers from 16 to 35 years old, the audience was more than 100 million people in 43 countries.
On 1 July 2011, the logo and design of the channel changed, the inscription "Music Television" disappeared from the logo. The former name MTV Europe has also returned.
In 2012, all music charts discontinued from the channel. At the beginning of 2013, three charts returned to the air of MTV Europe — Hitlist UK, Base Chart and Dance Floor Chart.
In the autumn of 2014, the channel's website was transferred to the organisers of the MTV Europe Music Awards, now when switching to the website mtv.tv, redirects to the site tv.mtvema.com.
In the summer of 2015, MTV Europe reissued the inter-programme screensavers of TV channels, focusing on the initiative MTVBump.com, and provided more social screensavers created by MTV viewers.
On 1 March 2016, MTV Europe switched to widescreen broadcasting.
In December 2017, MTV received a new design, similar to Latin American and Brazilian MTV. Other local MTV channels across Europe have also started using similar on-air branding.
Since June 2019, all music videos are broadcast only until 8:00 Central European time, with the exception of the Euro Top Chart on Friday from 9 to 11:00.
On 26 January 2021, MTV Europe has been renamed MTV Global The channel retains its Czech license in order to ensure the continuation of legal broadcasting in the European Union in accordance with the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive and the Single Market Law after the UK leaves the European Union. On September 14 of the same year, a rebranding was carried out, which included an updated version of the logo and a new design.
On 8 and 19 September 2022, due to the death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, the TV channel removed all entertainment programmes from the air. Two music blocks were introduced: "Programming Pause" and "Nothing but Music", which broadcast relaxed and dim music videos.
At the beginning of 2023, a new programme "MTV Movies" was presented, it tells about the novelties of cinema.