70 Fun Facts About MTV

In what year did MTV launch?

MTV launched at 12:01 a.m. on August 1, 1981, run by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment Company.

Which song's clip was the first ever played on MTV?

On February 27, 2000, the same clip became the one millionth video the channel broadcast.

What did the initials MTV originally stand for?

MTV stood for Music Television; the words were dropped from the logo in 2010 as the channel shifted toward reality shows.

What were the on-air hosts of MTV's early years called?

Short for video jockeys, a play on radio's disc jockeys.

Which of these was one of the five original MTV VJs?

Martha Quinn was one of the five original VJs alongside Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter and J. J. Jackson.

MTV's launch ident showed footage of what historic event?

Apollo 11 Moon landing footage opened MTV, with the flag replaced by an MTV logo; the ident was retired in 1986 after the Challenger disaster.

The MTV Video Music Awards statuette depicts what?

Long nicknamed the moonman, it has officially been a "moon person" since 2017.

In what year were the first MTV Video Music Awards held?

The first VMAs were held on September 14, 1984 at Radio City Music Hall, hosted by Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler.

Which song did Madonna perform at the very first VMAs, in a bustier wedding gown?

She wore her trademark "Boy Toy" belt with the outfit.

Who won the first ever Video of the Year VMA?

The Cars won the first Video of the Year for 'You Might Think', beating Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' and Herbie Hancock's 'Rockit'.

Which rapper's 'Without Me' won Video of the Year at the 2002 VMAs?

Eminem's 'Without Me' took Video of the Year at the 2002 VMAs, two years after 'The Real Slim Shady' won him the same award.

Which artist won ten awards in a single night at the 1987 VMAs?

Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer' won nine awards including Video of the Year at the 1987 VMAs, and he received the Video Vanguard Award the same night.

The VMA lifetime-achievement Video Vanguard Award was renamed in 1991 after which artist?

Michael Jackson, who received the Vanguard in 1988, had the award renamed for him in 1991 for turning videos into short films with storylines.

Which comedian earned a "lifetime ban" from MTV after his 1989 VMA routine?

Andrew Dice Clay recited vulgar nursery rhymes while introducing Cher at the 1989 VMAs; MTV's lifetime ban was lifted for the 2011 show.

Which animal did Britney Spears dance with at the 2001 VMAs?

The performance of "I'm a Slave 4 U" also involved a caged tiger.

At the 2003 VMAs, Madonna kissed Britney Spears and which other singer on stage?

Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, dressed as brides, each kissed Madonna, who played the groom, during the 2003 VMAs opening number.

Whose acceptance speech did Kanye West interrupt at the 2009 VMAs?

Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's Best Female Video speech for 'You Belong with Me' to argue Beyoncé's 'Single Ladies' was one of the best videos ever.

Which advertising slogan, launched in 1982, had rock stars telling viewers to call their cable company?

'I Want My MTV!' was adman George Lois's 1982 campaign, adapted from a 1950s cereal slogan, 'I Want My Maypo!', with Mick Jagger among the stars who shouted it.

Which video by the King of Pop is credited with breaking MTV's early "color barrier"?

'Billie Jean' entered MTV rotation in March 1983 after CBS Records chief Walter Yetnikoff threatened to pull the label's videos over the channel's refusal to play Black artists.

Which funk star publicly attacked MTV in 1983 for refusing to play his "Super Freak" video?

Rick James accused MTV of racism in 1983 when it would not air 'Super Freak', and later dismissed the channel's playing of Black artists as tokenism.

Which punk band released "M.T.V. – Get Off the Air" in 1985?

Dead Kennedys put 'M.T.V. – Get Off the Air' on their 1985 album Frankenchrist, with Jello Biafra sneering at the channel's grip on the music business.

Ted Turner's short-lived rival music channel was bought by MTV in 1984 and turned into what?

VH1 launched on January 1, 1985 in the slot of Turner's Cable Music Channel, which had lasted just over a month before he sold it to MTV Networks.

Which was the first video shown on MTV Europe when it launched?

Fitting, since the song's lyric name-checks the channel's own slogan.

Where did MTV set up its first live Spring Break broadcasts in 1986?

The city's mayor had gone on national TV to lure the students Fort Lauderdale was pushing away.

Who hosted the original American version of Yo! MTV Raps when it debuted in 1988?

Doctor Dré and Ed Lover later took the weekday show, and Ed Lover invented his own dance on it.

Headbangers Ball, MTV's heavy metal show, is most associated with which host?

Riki Rachtman hosted Headbangers Ball from 1990 to 1995, after Kevin Seal and Adam Curry had each fronted it.

Which MTV game show hosted by Ken Ober launched Adam Sandler and Colin Quinn?

Remote Control, set in host Ken Ober's mock basement, ran from 1987 to 1990 and gave Adam Sandler, Colin Quinn and Denis Leary early TV exposure.

120 Minutes, which ran on MTV from 1986 to 2000, was dedicated to which genre?

120 Minutes showcased alternative music from 1986 to 2000 on MTV, then moved to MTV2, where Matt Pinfield revived it as a monthly show in 2011.

Whose 1992 Unplugged album became the best-selling live album of all time?

Eric Clapton's Unplugged sold some 26 million copies and won six Grammys, including Song of the Year for 'Tears in Heaven'.

Nirvana's Unplugged set was recorded in November 1993, roughly how long before Kurt Cobain's death?

Nirvana taped MTV Unplugged on November 18, 1993, about five months before Cobain's death on April 5, 1994; the set leaned on covers of the Meat Puppets, Lead Belly and David Bowie.

Which animation showcase, running 1991-95, introduced both Beavis and Butt-Head and Æon Flux?

Liquid Television, produced by Colossal Pictures with a theme by Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh, premiered Æon Flux and Beavis and Butt-Head on MTV.

Who created Beavis and Butt-Head?

Mike Judge created Beavis and Butt-Head and voices both, along with Principal McVicker, Coach Buzzcut and Tom Anderson.

In which fictional Texas town do Beavis and Butt-Head live?

They attend Highland High and work at the fast food chain Burger World.

Which Beavis and Butt-Head spin-off ran on MTV from 1997 to 2002?

Its creator had no hand in it — he was busy making King of the Hill.

Who created the animated series Æon Flux?

A live-action film starring Charlize Theron followed in 2005.

In which year did The Real World premiere?

The Real World premiered on May 21, 1992, putting seven strangers in a SoHo loft in New York with cameras rolling.

Which production company made The Real World and Road Rules?

Founders Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray are credited with launching the modern reality TV genre.

Which AIDS activist on The Real World: San Francisco died shortly after his season aired?

Castmate Judd Winick later wrote the graphic novel Pedro and Me about their friendship.

On Road Rules, cast members traveled the country in what?

Road Rules packed its cast into an RV and sent them across the country with no money, completing missions for a 'handsome reward' at the end.

Under what title did The Challenge premiere on MTV in April 1998?

Road Rules: All Stars (1998) sent Real World alumni on a Road Rules-style trip; the series was renamed Real World/Road Rules Challenge and eventually just The Challenge.

Who was the original host of Total Request Live?

Carson Daly hosted TRL from its 1998 launch and made its Times Square studio MTV's nerve centre before handing over to Damien Fahey.

How many videos made up TRL's daily countdown?

Viewers voted by phone or online, though many "live" episodes were actually pre-recorded.

In what year did TRL end its original run with the Total Finale Live special?

The three-hour Total Finale Live aired on November 16, 2008; the show was briefly revived in 2017.

Which family reality show was MTV's most-viewed series when it premiered in 2002?

The Osbournes, following Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly and Jack at home, won the 2002 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program.

Who created and hosted the hidden-camera prank show Punk'd?

Ashton Kutcher created Punk'd with Jason Goldberg and hosted it from 2003; it grew out of a planned show called Harassment that would have pranked ordinary people.

Which rapper hosted Pimp My Ride?

Xzibit fronted Pimp My Ride from 2004 to 2007; West Coast Customs did the builds until season five, when Galpin Auto Sports took over.

Which tuna brand did Jessica Simpson famously puzzle over on Newlyweds?

Chicken of the Sea was the brand; in the first episode Jessica Simpson asked Nick Lachey whether she was eating chicken or tuna, a clip replayed endlessly in 2003.

The Hills was a spin-off of which earlier MTV reality series?

Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County spawned The Hills in 2006, with Lauren Conrad carrying over to pursue a fashion career in Los Angeles.

In which New Jersey town was the Jersey Shore house?

Seaside Heights hosted the Jersey Shore house for seasons one, three, five and six; season two decamped to South Beach and season four to Florence, Italy.

Teen Mom was the first spin-off of which MTV series?

16 and Pregnant, which premiered in 2009, spun off Teen Mom later that year to follow four of its first-season mothers.

Catfish: The TV Show is based on a documentary film from which year?

The 2010 documentary Catfish followed Nev Schulman's online romance; he and Max Joseph hosted the first seven seasons of the 2012 TV spin-off.

Who hosted Ridiculousness from its 2011 MTV debut?

Rob Dyrdek fronted Ridiculousness from 2011, with his company Superjacket producing; Steelo Brim and Chanel West Coast were long-time co-hosts.

Jackass grew out of stunts filmed for which skateboarding magazine?

Big Brother magazine editor Jeff Tremaine had Johnny Knoxville film stunts for an article, and Spike Jonze came on as Jackass co-creator.

Wild 'n Out was created and hosted by which comedian-musician?

Nick Cannon created and hosted Wild 'n Out, which debuted on MTV in July 2005 and later moved to VH1.

Which longtime Rolling Stone writer became the face of MTV News?

Kurt Loder, a Rolling Stone editor through the 1980s, anchored MTV News from 1988, hosted The Week in Rock and co-wrote Tina Turner's I, Tina.

Which presidential candidate took part in an MTV town hall during the 1992 Choose or Lose campaign?

Bill Clinton took questions from young voters in a 90-minute MTV forum in June 1992, part of Choose or Lose, MTV's first voter-registration drive.

Which Super Bowl halftime show ended with Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction"?

Super Bowl XXXVIII's halftime show, produced by MTV, ended with the 2004 incident; the FCC fined CBS 550,000 dollars, a penalty federal judges threw out in 2008.

Where were the first MTV Europe Music Awards held in 1994?

The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin hosted the first MTV Europe Music Awards on 24 November 1994, five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with Tom Jones as host.

What is the statuette at the MTV Movie Awards called?

The Golden Popcorn, a bucket of gilded popcorn, was the trophy from the show's 1992 start; '& TV' was added to the name in 2017.

Which company acquired a majority of MTV Networks from Warner between 1985 and 1986?

Viacom bought Warner-Amex's stake in MTV Networks in 1985 and the rest in 1986; MTV had been spun off with Nickelodeon into MTV Networks in 1984.

Which claymation series had Johnny Gomez and Nick Diamond calling fights refereed by Mills Lane?

Celebrity Deathmatch (1998–2002, revived 2006) had real referee Mills Lane voice himself, opening every clay bout with 'Let's get it on!'

Which collective created the MTV logo in 1981, with Patty Rogoff sketching the block 'M'?

Manhattan Design, the trio of Frank Olinsky, Pat Gorman and Patty Rogoff, made the logo, which unlike most network marks was constantly recoloured and re-patterned on air.

Which Warner-Amex music-video program is considered an important precursor to MTV?

PopClips, devised by former Monkee Michael Nesmith, ran on Nickelodeon in 1980 and showed Warner-Amex that a video-clip channel could work.

How many hours of Live Aid coverage did MTV broadcast on July 13, 1985?

MTV carried all 16 hours of Live Aid on July 13, 1985, while ABC showed only a prime-time package of the London and Philadelphia concerts organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure.

Which Soundgarden video did MTV refuse to air in 1991 over its religious imagery?

'Jesus Christ Pose', from 1991's Badmotorfinger, was pulled from MTV over its crucifixion imagery, which Chris Cornell said targeted celebrities' martyr poses, not religion.

What was MTV's peak US pay-TV reach, hit in 2011?

MTV peaked at about 99 million US pay-TV households in 2011; by November 2023 the figure had fallen to roughly 67 million as the channel leaned on reality programming.

Which channel was rebranded on August 1, 2016, the network's 35th anniversary, to show vintage videos?

VH1 Classic became MTV Classic on August 1, 2016, MTV's 35th birthday, launching with the channel's first hour from 1981 and leaning on archive shows like Unplugged.

On what date were MTV's music channels shut down in the UK and several other countries?

Paramount shut MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live in the UK and Ireland on December 31, 2025, as announced that October.

Which 1980s MTV VJ later helped invent podcasting, earning the nickname 'the Podfather'?

Adam Curry, MTV's big-haired VJ of the late 1980s, later helped develop podcasting's RSS enclosure system with Dave Winer, earning the nickname 'the Podfather'.

Who executed Fred Seibert's Moon-landing launch ident concept for MTV in 1981?

NASA stills of the landing cut to a flag bearing the MTV logo that flickered through colours as the guitar jingle played for the first time.