Don't believe the hype. At least, not fully. You might have seen on whatever social media channels you surf that the iconic MTV is shutting down. That is a far too simplified and false narrative of what is really going on. And what is no longer going to exist depends on where you live.
MTV is not going to stop airing. Unfortunately, the flagship channel will probably continue to exist as it has for decades. That means, ironically, not showing much music television. Instead, we will get tripe like Jersey Shore and other brain-numbing series.
MTV stopped being musically important decades ago. That isn't going to change. This is especially true after Paramount, MTV's parent company, and Skydance Global merged, as the two mega-companies seek ways to cut costs. This isn't about entertainment. This is about dollar bills.
MTV isn't going away, but maybe it should
For those who live in the United States, you won't be affected. The main MTV channel, as well as MTV Live and MTV Classic (the artist formerly known as VH1), will still be available to watch, if you dare. The news of MTV closing some channels does not affect you.
In the UK, however, it will. MTV ‘80s, MTV ’90s, Club MTV, MTV Live, and MTV Music will be gone. You might shed a tear at the loss of these channels, but as they were rarely watched, few will care. The original MTV will still exist.
In Australia, the same issue will exist. But if you really still want your MTV, you will still have access to it.
Ultimately, what is affecting MTV is that it was pushed out of being important. YouTube is easier to find and stream, and whatever you want to watch musically is a click away. Instead of listening to terrestrial radio, music lovers will stream from Amazon Music, Spotify, and other services in their vehicles and on long walks with their cats.
MTV might still be on your cable package, but many don't have cable anymore. It's easier and cheaper to pay for streamers like YouTubeTV, Hulu, Netflix, and others. Scrolling their tons of channels in hopes of finding MTV is no good, especially when MTV isn't playing music much anyway.
So, no...MTV isn't fully going away. But maybe it should. Many stopped caring about the music channel when the people who run it stopped caring about music. They deserve to have people ignore their channels.