August 1
MTV DAY
MTV (Music Television) made its debut at 12:01 a.m. on this day in 1981. The first music video shown on the rock-video cable channel was, appropriately, Video Killed the Radio Star, by the Buggles. MTV’s original five veejays were Martha Quinn, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, J.J. Jackson and Alan Hunter.
Since MTV targeted to 18- to 24-year-olds, its music videos featured rock, rap, R&B and heavy metal. Today, the radio-with-pictures TV channel does more than play wall-to-wall music. Watch MTV and you’ll see news, drama, game shows, comedy, dance shows and inaugural balls.
In 1987, having reached the near-saturation point on U.S. cable systems, MTV expanded internationally with MTV Europe. Two years later, and just two days before the Berlin Wall came down, MTV went on the air in East Berlin. A big push into Asia was launched in September of 1991, and in the fall of 1993, MTV went Latin with MTV Latino. And zillions of households worldwide could get their MTV!
But the old MTV has faded away in recent years and its programming now consists mainly of typical TV reality, comedy and drama shows, with limited music video programming in off-peak time periods.
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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