"Ladies and gentlemen, rock 'n' roll." Those were the words spoken by Warner Cable executive John Lack on Aug. 1, 1981, at 12:01 am when MTV — Music Television — went on air for the very first time.

Ultimately, video killed the pioneer of music video channels. MTV’s music channels went dark on Wednesday, closing with the clip that introduced the world to the 24-hour station on Aug. 1, 1981 -- ...

A music video blast from the tech past—resurrected and modernized for 2026. Call it the day the music died. On December 31, 2025, MTV’s last music-only stations shut down forever​.

Reports from late last year about the demise of MTV were overstated; but it got us thinking about the network’s legacy and ...