Quote:
Originally posted by Hooligan
MTV isn't doing half bad, really. In addition to the reality shows -- Jersey, Real World, Teen Mom, etc -- the scripted shows are bringing in a shitload of viewers. Numbers are great for the network, but the "M" (in MTV) is looking more and more bizarre. ![lmao](http://atrl.net/forums/images/smilies/images/smilies/lmao.gif)
|
You get it. The only one in this thread that really gets it.
To an irrelevant online community of pop music aficionados, MTV is "dead." I mean, whatever. The wants of our niche interest community are of no concern to a network that must pander to the masses in order to survive. Oh, wait, that's every network. Kudos to MTV for aborting their original mission and adopting a format that keeps the network afloat. The current mix of reality shows and original programming are serving the network well and MTV has wisely decided to milk the shows that are popular. I have no doubts that, when reality television falls out of favor, MTV will be prepared to explore something else. There's a reason networks featuring music-centric programming don't exist (bar that random block of, like, sixty-something Music Choice channels included in your cable package); there's no demand and the programming has such limited sustainability. MTV was a success in its musical hey-day (this hey-day predates, basically, everyone on this board, by the way) because it was a novelty; the music video was a relatively new art form, and the idea that one could turn on MTV at any moment during the day and see their favorite musicians was mind-boggling. It's a dated concept, and I think MTV realized the format's limitations early on. It was only a few years after MTV's inception that they began this shift towards non-musical programming. By 1992 (God, I love The Real World!) they were already pioneering this much detested (only on ATRL) reality TV format that has come to dominate the network, so I'll never really understand how some are surprised/angered by the change in direction. You had decades to adjust to the new format. You could have severed ties with the network long ago. But I know you. You don't enjoy "trashy reality tv," even though you might "accidentally" land on an episode of Teen Mom while channel surfing and forget to switch to something else.