70 Fun Facts About MTV

Which space shuttle's launch footage opened MTV's first broadcast?

Columbia's April 1981 liftoff opened MTV that August 1; the nearest signal was across the river in New Jersey, so the channel's own staff took buses to a bar there to watch.

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

"Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles was picked to open MTV because its title summed up the channel's idea, and in February 2000 MTV aired it again as its one millionth video.

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.

Which MTV dating game show did Jenny McCarthy co-host in the mid-1990s?

Singled Out had 50 singles compete for a date with one contestant; when Jenny McCarthy left in 1997 for a sitcom of her own, MTV brought in Carmen Electra to replace her.

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

Martha Quinn had only just graduated from NYU, her screen experience limited to TV commercials, when MTV put her on air as one of its five launch-day hosts.

Which MTV series, launched in 2000, had celebrities give tours of their homes?

Cribs toured stars' houses from 2000, though not every one was theirs: Robbie Williams later admitted that the home he showed off had been rented from actress Jane Seymour.

The MTV Video Music Awards statuette depicts what?

An astronaut on the Moon was among the first images MTV ever aired, so the awards borrowed it; long nicknamed the Moonman, the trophy is now officially the Moon Person.

Which venue hosted the first VMAs?

Radio City Music Hall staged the first VMAs on September 14, 1984, with Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler hosting; the night's big winner was no pop idol but jazz veteran Herbie Hancock, with five awards.

Which song did Madonna perform at the very first VMAs in 1984?

"Like a Virgin" had Madonna step off a giant wedding cake in a bridal gown; when a shoe slipped off she dived to the floor to cover for it, and the improvised roll is what made the performance famous.

Which video lost the first Video of the Year VMA to The Cars' "You Might Think"?

"Thriller" lost to one of the first videos to use computer graphics, with singer Ric Ocasek popping up as a fly and in a bathroom mirror; the Viewer's Choice award, at least, did go to "Thriller" that night.

Which rapper won Video of the Year at the 2002 VMAs?

Eminem won for "Without Me", whose lyrics mock Moby by name; at the same show Triumph the Insult Comic Dog interviewed Moby, then was shoved away by Eminem's bodyguards.

Which act's stop-motion video won nine awards at the 1987 VMAs?

Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" took nine awards and the Video Vanguard made it ten for the night, yet he collected none of them in person: he was on tour in Germany.

The VMAs' lifetime-achievement Video Vanguard Award was later renamed after which artist?

Michael Jackson treated his videos as short films with stories, which won him the Video Vanguard in 1988 and later put his name on the award.

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

Andrew Dice Clay ran through his adult nursery rhymes while introducing Cher at the 1989 VMAs; MTV banned him for life, though its own news site later called the routine rather tame.

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

An albino snake, a Burmese python, hung around Britney Spears's neck as she sang "I'm a Slave 4 U", while a live tiger stayed locked up at the back of the stage.

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

Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears opened the 2003 VMAs with Madonna and Missy Elliott in a medley that revisited Madonna's number from the very first VMAs, and she kissed both on the lips.

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!" borrowed a cereal slogan, "I Want My Maypo!", and had Mick Jagger and Pete Townshend demand the channel on air so that fans would phone cable operators who had refused to carry it.

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

"Billie Jean" reached MTV on March 10, 1983; CBS Records chief Walter Yetnikoff said he had threatened to pull all of his label's videos to get it played, a story MTV's programmers deny.

Which funk star publicly accused MTV of racism in 1983 for refusing to play his video?

Rick James made the charge after MTV passed on "Super Freak"; MTV said it simply kept to a rock format, though the executive who turned the clip down later called it too racy.

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

Dead Kennedys used the track to accuse MTV of sedating the public; it sits on Frankenchrist, the 1985 album whose explicit Giger poster put singer Jello Biafra on trial.

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?

"Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits followed Elton John switching the channel on in Amsterdam in 1987; it was a pointed choice, since the song opens with Sting singing the channel's own slogan.

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

Daytona Beach, Florida was MTV's base for live shows in March 1986, eight hours a day, built around belly-flop contests and regular suntan reports.

Who became the first regular host of MTV's weekly hip-hop video show when it reached the US in 1988?

Fab 5 Freddy took his weekend episodes of Yo! MTV Raps out of the studio and on location after Run-DMC had hosted the pilot; Doctor Dré and Ed Lover later fronted the daily show indoors.

Which host fronted Headbangers Ball from 1990 until the show ended on MTV in 1995?

Riki Rachtman was the metal show's third host and saw it out; by the time it ended in 1995, grunge and alternative rock had crept onto its playlist.

Which MTV game show hosted by Ken Ober gave early TV roles to Adam Sandler and Colin Quinn?

Remote Control, played on a set dressed as Ken Ober's basement, strapped its contestants into recliners and hauled the losers out through a breakaway wall.

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

Alternative music was the whole brief of 120 Minutes, which gave Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video its world premiere in 1991 and carried on at MTV2 once its MTV run ended.

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

Eric Clapton's Unplugged won Album of the Year, and its "Tears in Heaven", written after the death of his four-year-old son Conor, took both Record and Song of the Year.

Which David Bowie song did Nirvana cover on MTV Unplugged?

"The Man Who Sold the World" became so tied to Nirvana that Bowie grumbled about young fans praising him for covering a Nirvana song whenever he played it.

Which MTV animation showcase introduced both Beavis and Butt-Head and Æon Flux?

Liquid Television screened the short "Frog Baseball" in 1992, and MTV then ordered a full Beavis and Butt-Head series on the strength of it.

Who created Beavis and Butt-Head?

Mike Judge, a physics graduate who had grown bored with engineering work, turned to making animated shorts on his own, and he still voices both boys.

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

Highland was first imagined as a small New Mexico town; it became Texan only after a background artist, unprompted, wrote "Texas" on the license plates in a scene.

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

Daria gave the boys' cynical classmate Daria Morgendorffer her own series, but their creator took no part in it: he was busy making King of the Hill.

Who starred in the 2005 live-action film of MTV's Æon Flux?

Charlize Theron starred, but Peter Chung, who created the animated original, called the film "a travesty" that left him feeling "helpless, humiliated and sad".

Which city hosted The Real World's first season?

New York's SoHo housed the cast in a loft: MTV had wanted a scripted soap but found writers and actors too costly, so it filmed seven real people instead.

Which production company made The Real World and Road Rules?

Bunim/Murray Productions joined Mary-Ellis Bunim, a veteran producer of daytime soaps such as As the World Turns, with Jonathan Murray, and the pair shot real housemates' lives as an unscripted soap.

Which AIDS activist from MTV's The Real World: San Francisco died hours after its last episode aired?

Pedro Zamora died on November 11, 1994, aged 22; castmate Judd Winick later told the story of their friendship in the graphic novel Pedro and Me.

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 debut, sending five Real World alumni on a road trip?

Road Rules: All Stars sent five Real World alumni on a Road Rules-style trip; two of them, Sean Duffy and Rachel Campos, met on it and married the following year.

Who was the original host of Total Request Live?

Carson Daly hosted TRL from its 1998 launch and came back for the 2008 farewell special, standing alongside the hosts who had followed him, Damien Fahey among them.

TRL's studio windows overlooked which Manhattan landmark?

Times Square filled with screaming fans below MTV's studio windows, and hundreds still queued there for the 2008 farewell, long after the show's heyday had passed.

Which Britney Spears video topped TRL's final countdown?

"...Baby One More Time" topped the farewell countdown of all-time videos and ran under the closing credits; the show had helped turn Britney Spears into a superstar and tracked her whole career.

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

The Osbournes, which followed Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly and Jack at home, won a 2002 Emmy for reality programming; Ozzy later admitted he had been stoned through most of the filming.

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

Ashton Kutcher created Punk'd with Jason Goldberg after an earlier idea, Harassment, pranked ordinary people and drew a $10 million lawsuit from a couple who found a fake corpse in their hotel room.

Which rapper hosted Pimp My Ride?

Xzibit fronted Pimp My Ride from 2004 to 2007; makeovers that seemed to take days really kept each vehicle in the shop for around six months, former contestants later said.

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

Chicken of the Sea baffled Jessica Simpson in the first episode: "Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish?" she asked Nick Lachey, a gaffe that led to talks about making her the brand's spokeswoman.

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 spun off Teen Mom to follow four of its first-season mothers; a 2014 study credited the show with a drop in US teen births in the 18 months after it began, a finding later research disputed.

Which Catfish host's online romance was the subject of the original documentary?

Nev Schulman fell for a young woman called Megan on Facebook, then travelled to Michigan with his brother filming and found a married woman in her forties behind the profile.

Who hosted Ridiculousness from its 2011 MTV debut?

Rob Dyrdek's clip show was repeated so heavily that in one week of June 2020 it filled 113 of MTV's 168 hours; the network finally cancelled it in 2025, after 14 years.

Which Jackass star tested pepper spray on himself for a magazine?

Johnny Knoxville had pitched the self-defence test as an article; Big Brother editor Jeff Tremaine talked him into filming it, and the tape became the seed of Jackass.

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

Nick Cannon launched Wild 'n Out on MTV in July 2005 as an improv battle between two teams of up-and-coming comics, and his early casts included Kevin Hart and Katt Williams.

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

Kurt Loder left Rolling Stone for MTV in 1988; on April 8, 1994 he broke into the channel's regular programming to tell viewers that Kurt Cobain had been found dead.

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

Bill Clinton took young voters' questions in an MTV forum during Choose or Lose, a campaign that the Peabody jurors credited with helping to produce the highest youth turnout since 1972.

Which singer tore Janet Jackson's costume at MTV's 2004 Super Bowl halftime show?

Justin Timberlake pulled off part of her top at the end of their duet; the FCC fined CBS $550,000, a penalty later thrown out in court, and the NFL dropped MTV from its future halftime shows.

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

The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin staged the first awards on 24 November 1994 with Tom Jones hosting; MTV Europe had reached East Berlin in November 1989, just days before the Wall opened.

What was the trophy handed out at the MTV Movie Awards called?

The Golden Popcorn went to winners picked by the public, not by an academy, from the first show in 1992 until MTV shelved the awards after 2023.

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

Viacom bought a first stake in MTV Networks in August 1985 and completed the takeover in May 1986, picking up Nickelodeon in the same deal.

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

Celebrity Deathmatch had real boxing referee Mills Lane lend his own voice from 1998 to 2002, starting each clay bout with his ring catchphrase, 'Let's get it on!'

Which video, mixing live action with pencil-sketch animation, won six awards at the 1986 VMAs?

"Take On Me" by a-ha won six of its eight nominations, including Viewer's Choice and Best Concept Video, yet the night's top prize, Video of the Year, went to Dire Straits.

Which former Monkee devised PopClips, the Nickelodeon video show that became a model for MTV?

Michael Nesmith, by his own account, found syndicators cold on PopClips before Nickelodeon aired it in 1980, and the channel's parent Warner-Amex then used the show as a model when creating MTV.

Which benefit concert did MTV show all day while ABC aired only part?

Live Aid filled 16 hours on July 13, 1985: Bob Geldof staged twin concerts in London and Philadelphia after seeing a BBC report on famine in Ethiopia, and MTV stayed with it all day.

Which Seattle band's 'Jesus Christ Pose' video did MTV ban in 1991?

Soundgarden's video put a girl on a cross and was read by some as anti-Christian; Chris Cornell said the song mocked stars who strike martyr poses, reportedly after seeing a photo of Perry Farrell.

Which Jersey Shore cast member was punched by a stranger in a bar as MTV filmed?

Snooki's attacker, a gym teacher, pleaded guilty to assault and lost his job; MTV ran the punch in its promos, where it went viral, then cut it from the episode itself.

Which channel was rebranded on August 1, 2016, the anniversary of MTV's launch?

VH1 Classic became MTV Classic that morning, relaunching at 6 a.m. with 'MTV Hour One', a rerun of the very first hour MTV ever aired.

Which media company shut MTV's five UK music channels, including MTV 80s and MTV 90s, at the end of 2025?

Paramount, cutting costs after its merger with Skydance, closed MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live on December 31, 2025, leaving only the reality-led main channel.

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

Adam Curry also registered mtv.com in 1993 with his bosses' blessing; when he left the channel the next year, MTV went to court to get the address back and the two sides settled.

Which singer did Miley Cyrus twerk against during their duet at the 2013 VMAs?

Robin Thicke sang 'Blurred Lines' while Cyrus danced against him with a giant foam finger, and the duet set off more than 300,000 tweets a minute.