On Monday, August 1, the 35th anniversary of MTV's launch, VH1 Classic becomes MTV Classic, a sister channel and programming block with a major focus on the 1990s and early 2000s.

The new channel will start with re-airing "MTV Hour One", the complete first hour of MTV's first hour, complete with VJ comments and actual commercials. It will re-air again at noon (and live on Facebook) before leading into a retrospective for TRL, as a primer for re-airing complete episodes throughout the weeks to come.

There will be the re-broadcast of MTV Unplugged concerts, VH1 Storytellers episodes, various MTV live concerts/concert videos, and many music videos and motion pictures through 3 decades.

The channel will round out with airing old programming such as Aeon Flux, Beavis and Butt-head, Daria, Cribs, Pimp My Ride, The Real World, Laguna Beach, Jackass, Punk'd, and so on.

Other than re-airing films and music videos, none of VH1 Classic's programming such as That Metal Show and Metal Evolution will not survive the transfer.

I haven't watched MTV since the early 1990s...

Lol how many times has MTV found a reason to air their first hour of programming? I feel like they do it once every 3 years.

Well that kinda sucks... I actually like VH1 Classic. It's one of the few channels that I check what's playing on outside of the "normal channels" that I watch. Hopefully the content will continue more of the movies, documentaries & concerts as opposed to the "dumb shows" like Bevis, Real World and Jackass.

Oh well. All good things must come to an end, right?

Peace,
Mr DJA

MTV has been irrelevant for years.

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RollingFreak
Lol how many times has MTV found a reason to air their first hour of programming? I feel like they do it once every 3 years.

They probably already threw out everything after that...

I quite enjoyed MTV2 during the early noughties, going through my brief indie-alternative phase. I never particular watched the regular station, nor VH1 Classic. The VH1 channel itself was quite important to me circa 2001-03, though. I used to enjoy the 'Behind The Music' series and learnt a bit about acts whom I had previously known little. It has it's place, for me.

Remember when you had to have cable so you could keep up with MTV? That's a LONG time ago.

They seriously need to play music and not so much "reality"

MTV Live (maybe the old Paladia channel?) is great. Austin City Limits, Jools Holland, many rock movies and live concerts. It's really good. They had "Ladies and Gentlemen" on a few months ago.

As exciting as MTV was, it was the downfall of rock and roll.

Turned it into a fashion show. Yes that was always part of it. But not all of it.

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beachbreak
MTV Live (maybe the old Paladia channel?) is great. Austin City Limits, Jools Holland, many rock movies and live concerts. It's really good. They had "Ladies and Gentlemen" on a few months ago.

I have to agree. This channel has introduced me to a number of really good bands that very few here in the colonies have heard of.

Trust a pro.

video: [www.youtube.com]

"Nice bit of silk, Em."

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kovach
As exciting as MTV was, it was the downfall of rock and roll.

This is certainly true.

And while there have been great bands that have come on the scene since 1981,rock itself was pushed into the role of being a tool of modern marketing instead of being an independent cultural force.

Oh sure, it still presents as something that provides the illusion of freedom, but it basically is there to sell you sh*t.

Did MTV show one music video in the first decade of the Twenty Hundreds? Have they shown a music video in the Twenty Teens?

I sure as hell don't know. I stopped watching it in 1990.

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GasLightStreet
Did MTV show one music video in the first decade of the Twenty Hundreds? Have they shown a music video in the Twenty Teens?

I sure as hell don't know. I stopped watching it in 1990.

Do you remember the day as well?

Ha ha, no, but it was in the spring...

Flashback: 15 Random Minutes of MTV From November 1982.

There are several pieces of Stones-related contents. If you have 15 minutes to kill give it a look.

Stones on MTV 1982

So far, reaction to the channel rebrand has been muted. Many say that even with what it's promised, the channel is still only meeting fans halfway. They say things like: Why don't we get full episodes of TRL? Why, when you show Beavis and Butt-head, do you seem to favor the revival season more? What about showing when Duran Duran were guest VJs or old MTV News clips? How about increasing the amount of time you show music videos? Some, like Gawker, say that MTV/Viacom should simply license all their content (all shows, all videos, all MTV News clips, all live concert programming) to show in one super convenient place, as this will all have much more value (especially monetarily) rather than hoarding it all.

Honestly, I don't know what to think. I know it's far from perfect, but I don't know or pretend to know what the long-term impact will be. I do say that a lot of these ideas have merit, and I think that would help. For my part, since MTV/Viacom wants to try and challenge Adult Swim, why not take the time to snap up the shows they're discarding (in terms of new episodes), such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Metalocalypse? (I was hoping that the Metalocalypse Now campaign would make Adult Swim agree to a proper finale, and was bitter that despite all the support around the world, they shot it down). Maybe, even do right with certain other shows. I personally like Jem (the old cartoon) for the characters and stories, though the music is cheesy as hell and unmemorable. The fact that many story arcs were unresolved due to the cancellation is a shame. Maybe MTV/Viacom can make things right.

No That Metal Show. No Metal Evolution. Yikes! That's the only reason I watched MTV Classics. I know Eddie Trunk has been shopping TMS around. I was hoping Paladia would pick it up. Guess that's in the dumper. They really need to rebroadcast 120 Minutes. Especially the Halloween show when The Cramps hosted. Can never get enough of Lux and Ivy.

Scotty
Irvine, Ca

"Rock and Roll is a nuclear blast of reality in a mundane world where no one is allowed to be magnificent."