As MTV Changed Into A Business Success, It Created A Massive Number Of Stars Whose Careers Would Have Been Totally Different Without The Exposure.

Wire channel MTV turns 30 today and I think it’s unlikely that any article noting the event will be well placed to fight the urge to incorporate some rant about the lack of music videos on the network.

In principle, I understand the complaints. I watched the network from its earliest days and there was something spellbinding about discovering some artist or song thanks to the video. As MTV turned into a commercial success, it created a big number of stars whose careers would be completely different without the exposure. Sure, performers like Paula Abdul owe their careers to MTV, but it is difficult to imagine what the careers of musicians like Michael Jackson would have been without the video exposure.

But from the earliest years of the network, MTV pursued a strategy of creating original, non-musical programming. And after they made that decision, it was unavoidable that the success of that programming would push the music off the key MTV Network.

There are good business reasons for opting not to play music videos on a channel that was originally branded as a music network. No cable channel wants to be in a scenario where their achievement is dependent on access to content being created by third parties. In much the same way that HBO and Showtime commenced making original programming as a method to offset the aggressive dealmaking of the flick studios, MTV moved toward original programming so they would not be dependent on the whims of the music labels.

I suspect things should have been subtly different if MTV had been owned by a media company that also owned a music label. But without guaranteed access to music videos, MTV had no choice than to move toward original programming.

Granted, MTV did not always have to select the programming mix that it did. But because it’s owned by Viacom, which approaches its multiple wire channels the way Clear Channel programs its radio stations, programming choices are usually as much about playing to the network’s target demo as anything more.

That pressure from the sales side is also why you see things like Viacom-owned flicks pop up in primetime slots. Their cost is close to free, and its simple for a sales staff to sell a block of films airing across all the Viacom Networks.

At the end of the day, MTV is a business. And it’s hard to argue with the grounds that whether it airs music videos, it’s been an exceptionally successful network. So while I ache for the videos (and the VJs), I’m 10 years past making snide remarks about the absence of music on MTV.

But as MTV turns thirty, I do fret about the corrosive effect its programming has on teens.

Worrying about such things probably appears old fashioned to most audiences (and TV critics) at this juncture. MTV clearly has the right to air what it wants, how it wants. The fact that so many of its shows are successful illustrates there’s an audience for them.

But because controversy sells, MTV has created this vision of American teenagers that frequently highlights the worst of what we can be. MTV isn’t airing Teenager Mom because they hope to persuade teenager viewers not to get pregnant. Actually the essential message of the show is “hey, it will be okay.” Seeing girls who have shown up on Teen Mom splashed across magazine covers at the local supermarket is morally wrong on so many levels I could write a book about it and still just scratch the surface. The undeniable fact that versions of jersey Shore air around the world makes me more sorrowful than proud of the network’s programming ability.

What worries me as MTV turns thirty is that for many American kids, Viacom has as much influence on their lives as school or friends. From Nick Jr’s preschool programming thru Nick’s animated shows thru Teenager Nick and MTV, Viacom controls the popular culture landscape of America’s youth.

I won’t claim anyone is evil. The majority of the programming decisions have more to do with sales opportunities and audience share than cultural impact. But at age thirty, MTV should be pondering such things, and it appears clear to anyone that watches the network the propriety of what they air is hardly a concern,writes tagza.com.