Can MTV bring the music back? David Ellison seems to be betting that it can.
The Paramount CEO is keen to revive the once-iconic brand, and is talking to major companies and music industry figures about strategic partnerships, including an economic stake in MTV, per Bloomberg. Such a strategic deal could give it expanded access to music rights or artists.
When MTV launched 45 years ago, it debuted with a music video of The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star.”
It was a statement about the state of the music business, with MTV carving out a niche as the home for music on TV sets, and helping to create the music video format, which dominated its lineup (alongside other music-related programming) for the next few decades.
Now, of course, music videos are as popular than ever, but their home is YouTube (and to a lesser extent, TikTok, Instagram,…
