VARIETY COVER: Inside the Cable TV Hospice: Can NBCUniversal’s Divorce From MSNBC, Syfy, E! and More Prolong the Life of Once-Popular Channels?

In the early 1980s, when cable TV was young and music videos were on the cutting edge, Doug Herzog used to fly coach for his job as a junior MTV programming executive.

When he traveled, Herzog would make a point of wearing something with the familiar logo, and he would pack a generous amount of MTV-branded swag — T-shirts, hats, tote bags. At the check-in counter, if the ticket agent was under 50, Herzog would almost always get a question or comment about MTV. When he did, he was quick to offer the agent a free T-shirt or hat.

“Next thing you know, you’re flying first class,” Herzog recalls. “That was absolute currency. People loved those MTV satin jackets and would kill for one back in the day.”

Today, you can still buy MTV T-shirts at Target. But nobody’s getting a seat upgrade on the strength of a free branded network hat. MTV’s fortunes have declined so far that most Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers have never seen more than a few minutes of the channel, other than old clips harvested on TikTok and YouTube. Fewer still have actually watched MTV via an old-fashioned cable TV subscription. 

And MTV is not alone. The traditional cable television business that gave rise to CNN, USA Network, ESPN, Nickelodeon, TNT, Discovery Channel and A&E Network is in steady decline. Some would call it a “state of decay,” made worse by a woeful lack of investment. Although cable’s been waning for years, industry veterans are still stunned to see long-established brands evaporating against the competitive challenge posed by streaming platforms. In recent years, the money and resources that NBCU once funneled into channels like USA and Syfy has been diverted to build up NBCUniversal’s Peacock platform, for example. 

And nothing is more symbolic of cable’s hard times than the news announced in late November by NBCUniversal’s parent company, Comcast, that it was selling off most of its linear cable channels. (Comcast, the largest provider of cable and broadband service in the country, makes most of its money from providing the northeastern U.S. with high-speed internet access and cable TV subscriptions.) NBCUniversal will hold on to the NBC network and the ever-buzzy Bravo, but will essentially divorce itself from the not-inconsiderable problems faced by seven outlets that were once the backbone of NBCUniversal’s TV division: USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Syfy, E!, Oxygen Media and Golf Channel. (Also included are digital assets like Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes.)

If that’s not “inflection point” enough for the biz, there are also big shifts afoot elsewhere. This year, Warner Bros. Discovery’s ad-supported entertainment networks have a new leader in Channing Dungey, who is plotting a different course for channels like TNT, TBS and Discovery while keeping her primary focus on running Warner Bros. TV Group. And Paramount Global is about to be acquired by Skydance, which brings with it a new leadership team that likely has its own ideas about what to do with a once-vibrant collection of cable brands like MTV and Comedy Central.

How quickly things changed after Netflix revolutionized the way we watch TV. Since the rise of that platform, the media giants that own the largest cable channels have turned their focus to building up streaming services. Peacock, Max, Disney+, Hulu and Paramount+ are now the flagship outlets for the conglomerates, serving as a cable replacement for a new breed of TV viewers. Amid this generational transition, long-established outlets that still generate solid profits have been left to wither on the vine.

Read more here.

MIKE ON TV: As MTV Turns 40, It’s Time to Embrace the Generation That Grew Up With It

Well, this was a fun one to kick up a bit of a stir. People, especially those in my generation, still have strong MTV feelings. And to see what the linear channel has become — mostly 24 hours of "Ridiculousness" repeats, and that's not an exaggeration -- makes all of us pretty sad. In honor of MTV's 40th anniversary on August 1, I wrote this column about what I think could be done to bring back some relevancy to the linear channel -- by embracing the demo that would still watch an MTV linear channel:

MTV turns 40 on Sunday, and it hardly looks its age. Well, that’s because it hardly looks like, well, anything anymore. At least that’s the depressing state of the linear MTV channel, which in recent years has become 95% reruns of “Ridiculousness,” along with a handful of runs of 20-year-old movies (“Joe Dirt”) and limited first-run airings of legacy shows like “Teen Mom” and “Catfish: The TV Series.”

It’s been a cliché for years to complain about what happened to the music on MTV. (For the record, the cable network programs a grand total of one hour and 10 minutes of music programming a week — the 10-minute “Fresh Out Live” on Fridays, and the one-hour “Fresh Out Playlist” on Saturday mornings.) But the music question has been moot since the mid-2000s, when videos moved to YouTube and Vevo. The larger issue is, what happened to the programming, period, on MTV? It’s become a zombie channel, and for those of us still rooting for the brand, it’s a sad sight to see.

MTV isn’t the only neglected cable channel out there; as my colleague Kate Aurthur and I detailed in a Variety cover story last year. As the major conglomerates shift their attention to their streaming services, the legacy basic cable networks have become secondary priorities. In many cases, they now serve more as incubators for programming that will eventually find a broader audience on a streamer.

But because MTV meant so much to so many of us growing up, especially those of us in our 40s, the de-evolution of the channel stings extra hard. As recently as 10 years ago, MTV still felt like it had the pulse on pop culture, and that was long after it had moved on to embraced a younger millennial audience, leaving us Gen X-ers in the dust. (No hard feelings, MTV, we get it.)

Interestingly, MTV is a brand that ViacomCBS continues to embrace, even recently renaming its portfolio of cable brands — MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, Pop TV, CMT, VH1, TV Land and Logo — to MTV Entertainment Group. But again, it’s now less about those channels, and more about what MTV Entertainment Studios is producing as a whole, and especially for Paramount Plus.

MTV is alive and well — but not on MTV. MTV’s “The Real World Homecoming: New York” didn’t air on MTV, but rather on Paramount Plus. Under Sheila Nevins, MTV Documentary Films is continuing to grow into a top-notch label for docs, recently earning an Emmy nom for “76 Days” — but that film ran on Pluto TV, and later Paramount Plus, not on MTV. MTV Entertainment Studios landed four Emmy nominations, but not for MTV fare — it was via two for “Emily in Paris,” on Netflix, and two for “Reno 911,” on the late Quibi.

I can’t fault the idea behind this. ViacomCBS and the MTV Entertainment Group are moving the brand to where the audiences are. And in reviving classic MTV and VH1 titles like “MTV Unplugged” and “Behind the Music,” there’s logic in capitalizing on nostalgia to sell audiences on a Paramount Plus subscription. It worked with “The Real World Homecoming,” which I devoured on the streaming service (after it frustratingly never appeared on MTV itself).

But that brings us back to linear MTV. What to do with a legacy linear brand on autopilot? For its 40th anniversary, I say: Give MTV back to the 40-year-olds.

Read the rest here. And watch the video above here.

Throwback Thursday: "AL-TV," Weird Al Yankovic's 1984 MTV Takeover

In 1984, my cable system got MTV for the first time. I watched a lot of MTV that summer, 30 years ago. A LOT. I probably memorized every video, every commercial, every MTV promo spot, every MTV VJ mannerism, every tagline. Everything.

So when "Weird Al" Yankovic -- then riding high on the success of his Michael Jackson parody "Eat It" -- occasionally took over MTV for the multiple hour parody stunt "AL-TV," I was entranced. Weird Al not only introduced videos, he would comment on them (and over them, in a few cases, like when he narrated Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire"). He tweaked MTV's marketing campaigns and contests. He made fun of "MTV News" and the stars it covered. He conducted fake interviews with the likes of Madonna. He aired parodies of commercials that aired over and over on MTV. He added sound effects to some videos. It was a fun, early stab at original programming on the channel.

"Weird Al" first did "AL-TV" on April Fool's Day 1984; it was such a hit that he came back to do it again that year on Labor Day weekend (and several times after that). It's now been 30 years. MTV has dramatically changed. But "Weird Al" has somehow managed to remain relevant, even scoring the week's No. 1 album release on the Billboard charts.

Below, watch young "Weird Al" take over the MTV signal for a few hours on Sept. 3, 1984. The music videos and commercials have mostly been scrubbed from this taping, but his parodies remain.

Toddlers, Vanilla Ice and Johnny Depp at the MTV Movie Awards

Sunday night's MTV Movie Awards offered plenty of bizarre moments -- Mark Wahlberg stopping the show when someone in the audience yelled a derogatory remark at his co-presenter, Mila Kunis, for example -- and it's always awesome to see the Black Keys live, made surreal by Johnny Depp on guitar and both Steven Tyler and Joe Perry ducking out of the way to let them play.

But some of the real strange stuff was in the audience, which Maria and I were able to attend on Sunday night. There was the "Toddlers and Tiaras" child, dressed sadly in full make up and blue taffeta dress -- and her stage mom commanding her to perform for complete strangers. There was Vanilla Ice standing in the aisle, taking out his camera phone and snapping a self portrait in front of the stage. (I thought Vanilla was banned from MTV after this moment when he trashed a studio.)

Also: The audience sat for most of the night, not feeling the Wiz Khalifa, for example. Yet it gave a standing ovation to Christopher Nolan when he stepped on stage to promote "The Dark Knight Returns." This MTV Movie Awards audience must be *hard core* Batman fans.

Russell Brand didn't do much heavy lifting as host -- a few racy jokes at the start, but that was about the last we saw of him. I'd have to say the highlight was Johnny Depp's appearance with the Black Keys -- followed by Kristen Stewart trying, awkwardly, to be funny.

Some pics snapped at the event:



Russell Brand opens the show, works in multiple Michael Fassbender penis references.



fun. performs their springtime anthem "We Are Young" with Janelle Monae.



Wiz Khalifa with the advice of the night: "Work Hard. Play Hard." Wiz, you might just have a future as a copywriter for Nike.



Johnny Depp rocks with the Black Keys. Too bad he didn't do this in full "Dark Shadows" costume.



"The Dark Knight" stars on stage to premiere a new trailer for the film -- which looks awesome, and as a bonus, it looks like a scene was shot in downtown Los Angeles' Union Station!



"Spider-Man" stars hit the stage too, to lots and lots of laser beams.

My Evening with the Teen Wolf

Whatta blast I had moderating last night's "Teen Wolf" panel at the Paley Center. The cast were all in great spirits, and we had fun cracking wise about the MTV drama's upcoming season 2. Executive producer Jeff Davis gave a few hints about the new season -- someone dies (natch), the first female werewolf appears, and Allison (played by Crystal Reed) turns into a bit of a bad ass. We even found out that Derek, the newly crowned Alpha werewolf (played by Tyler Hoechlin) doesn't look as big and menacing (compared to season one's Alpha) in CGI because, well, the CGI was too expensive.

Above, that's me with series star Tyler Posey, who plays Scott, the show's Teen Wolf. And below, I moderate with the cast.



Here's video of me introducing the panel and cracking wise:



And here's the fan Q&A portion at the end of the panel. Still waiting for someone to post the actual panel -- when they do, I'll include it here.

"Teen Wolf" Panel at the Paley Center Tonight; Give Me Your Burning Questions

Got questions about MTV's "Teen Wolf"? I'm moderating tonight's panel at the Paley Center kicking off season 2 of the show. (Because, when you think of "Teen Wolf" and teenage heartthrobs, you think of me, right?) More info at the Paley Center site here.

Among the stars and producers set to hit the stage:

Tyler Posey, "Scott McCall"
Crystal Reed, "Allison Argent"
Dylan O'Brien, "Stiles"
Tyler Hoechlin, "Derek Hale"
Holland Roden, "Lydia Martin"
Colton Haynes, "Jackson Whittemore"
Jeff Davis, Executive Producer

Post your questions below, or go to the Paley website. And watch the web stream LIVE here starting at approximately 7:45 p.m. PT.

Big Winner From the VMAs: The Set Designer and Graphics Guru

The critics weren't kind to Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards -- especially host Chelsea Handler's performance. I say she was simply miscast for the role; her audience is not the MTV audience.

It didn't help that the awards show didn't pull off a defining pop culture moment the way it did last year, when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech. (I still say Kanye was right... but that's just me, I guess.)

The reviews didn't matter; ratings were huge. And if there's a rave to be had from Sunday's show, it's for the amazing set -- turning the sterile Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live into something cool and contemporary -- and the graphics package from the show, which looked sharp.

Also, the show's cut away to a sundown performance by Linkin Park at the Griffith Observatory nicely highlighted that venue, the L.A. skyline at dusk and the orange horizon.

Some shots from inside the Nokia:

Can Somebody Please Explain The Justin Bieber Phenomenon?

OMG, u guyz. I totally <3 BiEBeR!!!! LOLZZZZ!!!!

(Psst... OK, have the tweenyboppers left the room? Good. Let's discuss.)

Pop culture circa March 2010 has a new leader. He's 16. And he's from Canada. His name is Justin Bieber. And if you're on Twitter, you can't escape him.

This Bieber phenomenon has been brewing for nearly a year -- the kid even sang the opening verse to the recent, ill-advised "We Are The World" remake. But seriously, how did we let this suddenly become a Justin Bieber nation? Even Conan O'Brien is obsessed: his last five Tweets have been all Bieber-centric:



And America's cougar population apparently digs him as well -- at least, I assume that's who's making "Justin Bieber shirt off" among the musician's leading Google searches (people, HE'S 16. STOP.)



David Letterman wants a piece of Bieber: The teen heartthrob was on "Late Show with David Letterman" Tuesday night. And MTV is suddenly into music again, now that Bieber Fever is in full swing. The channel has several Bieber programs in the works.

Bieber's handlers have smartly torn pages from the teen heartthrob playbook: Non-threatening, yet slightly suggestive marketing (which would explain this disturbing album cover, below).



What the hell?

BUT WHO IS THIS KID? WHERE DID HE COME FROM? WHAT'S FUELING THIS?

The jokes, the references, the Tweets? My theory: Justin Bieber is truly one of the first pop culture phenoms that those of us in our 30s and 40s didn't see coming, and still don't have a handle on.

Are we that out of touch with what the kids are listening to or paying attention to that this Bieber fellow crept out of nowhere to absolute pop culture phenom? Have we, gasp, become our parents -- after promising to ourselves that we'll always keep in tune with what's relevant, are we no longer staying relevant?

And most importantly, are we now making fun of the Justin Bieber phenomenon in order to feel like we're still on top of the trends?

Now if you excuse me, I have a few Wikipedia entries to read and You Tube videos to consume. Who is this kid??

R.I.P., Gen X Quizmaster Ken Ober

"The quizmaster of 72 Whooping Cough lane, Ken Ober!"

Ober was the unofficial game show host of Generation X, and his "Remote Control" helped usher in an age of programming on what previously had been a diet of music videos on MTV.

It's strange to think that the folks our generaton grew up with are already dying, but Ober, 52, passed away this weekend in Santa Monica. From the L.A. Times:

Lee Kernis of Brillstein Entertainment Partners, who represented Ober, confirmed the death but said the cause was unknown. According to Kernis, friends said Ober had been feeling ill with a headache and flu-like symptoms Saturday and did not meet them later as planned. An autopsy is planned.

Ober was a stand-up comic when he landed the job as host of “Remote Control” in 1987. On a basement set featuring college-age contestants and audience members, Ober introduced categories spanning the universe of TV reruns -- beginning with the old black-and-white days of "Car 54, Where Are You?" and "Mr. Ed" but returning again and again to "The Brady Bunch." If the players, who were strapped into garish reclining lounge chairs, answered correctly, they got to choose the next category. Those eliminated were ridiculed, then pitched backward in their chairs through the wall of the set.

You may also remember that Ober was paired with former "Brady Bunch" star Susan Olsen for a radio program on 97.1 KLSX, back when the station marketed itself as "Real Radio." More recently, Ober had been a TV writer for shows such as "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

MTV Video Music Awards: "Dude, They're Not Letting In The Princes of Malibu!"

We're notoriously late for events -- parents, you know how tough it is to get ready, wait for the baby sitter and prep the kid for the fact that mommy and daddy are going out -- without him.

That's why we got to the Paramount lot at 5:30 on Sunday, right when doors closed to the sound stage where the MTV Video Music Awards were being held. We found some amazing street parking on Melrose and Bronson too -- well, amazing until we realized the entrance was on Gower, and we'd have to hike a few blocks over.

That brought us to 6 p.m., right when the show was starting. No way they were going to let us in at that point -- and that's how we ended up in a cramped, makeshift alley way with other latecomers. As we shuttled back and forth between doors, we stumbled across virtually everyone: John Legend. Lil Wayne. And yes, the Jonas Brothers. Really.



Waiting along side us to get in: "The Hills" stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag (above, with our oh-so-high-res camera phone). Yep, Speidi had about as much luck as we did in getting inside, at least early on: None. Ditto Pratt's pal Brody Jenner (hence the "Princes of Malibu" cracks we kept hearing).



And ditto Seth Green.

We were promised an entrance after the first commercial break -- but that came and went. In the meantime, the LAPD fire marshal started acting tough -- demanding that the alley way next to the studio door be emptied, or else the entire production would be shut down. Whoa.

Guess all of us crowding by the door was freaking him out. Half an hour, then an hour passed, as we stood by the door, waiting for entrance. In the meantime, Lindsay Lohan and gal pal Samantha Ronson came up -- and the security guards began screaming for four people to exit the sound stage. (See, to allow Linds and Sam in, they'd have to even out the number inside the studio by yanking people out.) Sure enough, four people lost their inside privileges so that L&S could get inside. Also making their way in: Paramore. ("MAKE WAY FOR PARAMORE!" -- one of the night's rallying cries.)



Meanwhile, we finally decided to give up on the inside and head to the after party, where hundreds of people were aleady gathered. Best decision of the night. Drinks were flowing, food was being served, and people we knew were already there. The show was playing on monitors, but we mostly waited to see Kanye West perform the closing number outside next to the party. He did... and then... well, what was that? Anticlimactic, no?

Afterward, we headed to In Touch Weekly's post-VMA party at the Bar Marmont. As the Veronicas performed upstairs, we found a small, non-roped off booth next to the bar. Sipping our ginger-flavored cocktail, in walked -- once again! -- Samantha and Lindsay, in a VIP area next to the DJ. Later, Pauly Shore climbed into the booth next to us. It was a made-for-TMZ kinda night.

Retro Friday: I Want My MTV!

From 1985 -- you remember, when MTV played music videos!

MTV's First Look at "The Real World: Hollywood"

From the looks of it, the 20th edition of "The Real World" -- back in L.A. for the first time since season 2, but this time in Hollywood -- will be chock full o' people screaming at each other and punching things.

Actually, that sounds a lot like season 2. Except with more sex and booze, and a lot less attention to actual issues.

"The Real World 20: Hollywood" premieres April 16 at 10 p.m. on MTV.

FRANKLIN AVENUE CONTEST: America's Best Dance Crew Finale

Anyone free? We've got a pair of tix to see the finale of MTV's "America's Best Dance Crew" tonight.

Mario Lopez hosts "Best Dance Crew," while Lil Mama, JC Chasez and Shane Sparks star as judges. Show airs Thursday night at 10 p.m.

Tix are courtesy Fanscape, and will go to the first person who emails us at franklin_avenue(at)yahoo(dot)com and can make it to the show.

"The Real World" Returns to Los Angeles, 14 Years Later

Wow, has it really been 14 years since the second season of "The Real World," which took place in Los Angeles (Venice, to be exact)?

Now, the show -- in its 20th cycle, believe it or not -- is coming back to town. And this time, "The Real World" will take place in Hollywood. (Drunken antics to follow.)

MTV has ordered 24 episodes of the show, which will shoot this fall and air in the first quarter of 2008. And here's something you haven't seen in a while from "The Real World": an actual message to the madness. "The Real World: Hollywood" will go green (what isn't, these days?). From the press release:

In a groundbreaking initiative for the network, this new season will go "green" and introduce today's youth to the ways in which they can incorporate environmentally-friendly household items and make eco-friendly lifestyle choices, as seen on "The Real World" into their everyday lives.

A leader in pop-culture, MTV will showcase many of the ways in which viewers at home can participate in "green" practices every day with an intimate look at the sustainable and energy-efficient choices made in the construction of the house. By partnering with thinkMTV and working with a wide range of environmentally-friendly manufacturers, the 20th season will continue to set the standard for aspirational home design, this time with an eco-friendly twist.

"The Real World" house will include everything from solar energy solutions to bamboo flooring, recycled glass counters, some sustainable furniture and recycled vintage décor, energy star appliances, a solar heated swimming pool and energy efficient lighting. Additionally, Bunim-Murray Productions has taken measures to reduce its environmental impact by adopting more environmentally-sound production practices on set. They also are working towards making the production and show carbon-neutral by offsetting remaining carbon emissions after these carbon reducing measures are applied. Eco-friendly elements will be added on a regular basis throughout production and within the show, including products seen with the cast and around the house...

"Coming back to Los Angeles after 14 years, where else but Hollywood could MTV have brought 'The Real World'?" said Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, whose 13th district includes the production's location. "The combination of reality-TV excitement with strong ecological practices is a natural fit for Hollywood, the world's capital of entertainment and the place to look for the future of building a sustainable city."

"The Real World: Hollywood" will also include the first-ever viewer-chosen housemate. After 2.9 million total votes cast throughout the contest, someone who goes by the handle "Pretyboy," from Daytona Beach, Fla., will join the other six housemates.


"The Real World: Los Angeles" -- remember these folks?