MTV's ratings have taken a serious hit over the last few months, so they've decided to go further in the same direction! Well, sort of. MTV will continue with a heavy line-up of reality television, but with a different focus which they hope will help re-capture the 12-34 year-old market.
The president of entertainment at MTV, Brian Graden, says, "Our new shows will feature themes of affirmation and accomplishment… Our shows are going to focus less on loud and
silly hooks and more on young people proving themselves."
That new vision includes 16 new reality shows in less than 5 months! These shows will have a more serious tone and will be produced by stars like Sean Combs, Donald Trump and Nick Lachey. Many of the shows will still follow the semi-scripted formula of The Hills.
I think they are going to need more changes than adding more reality shows, but we'll have to see! You can read more about the changes at MTV here.
– Andy
How about they actually focus on MUSIC?? Or something other than utter crap? MTV sucks and they know it.
Hmmmm…. what happened to the actual focus on…. oh i don’t know…. MUSIC TELEVISION??? who the hell watches the crap they currently produce?
I think they need to bring back the founding VJ”s to show them how its gone and get it back to what it was created for: MUSIC and not the crap u hear rattling your house windows from cars!!!!!
No one is watching MTV’s reality shows, so MTV decides the solution is MORE reality shows?
Just like almost every other corporation in America these days, it appears they are headed by idiots.
The name MTV refers to MUSIC television. Bring back music videos with music that people want to hear. You know: lyrics, rhythm, beat, melody… Music! And focus on music stories: why this song was written, or what this artist is doing now, or upcoming releases, etc.
More reality shows? Well, I won’t be watching.
While I share the belief that MTV should refocus their broadcasting lineup on music videos and music-oriented programming; I have to give them credit for some of their more provocative gems. The “True Life” series has managed to tell some remarkable real-life stories of young people and the unusual subcultures they inhabit. Some of the topics have included obesity, anorexia, gay marriage, obsessive compulsive disorder, infidelity, teens supporting their families financially, schizophrenia – the list of relatively fresh (for television) topics goes on and on.
Additionally, the cast for the 21st (the original aired in 1992) season of the Real World: Brooklyn looks promising. While there is of course the “token gay” house mate, MTV has decided to cast their first transgendered cast member, Katelynn Cusanelli. From Wikipedia, Katelynn is a Italian-American transwoman who had a rough childhood. She first realized her gender dysphoria in high school, and began living as a woman at 17. She completed her gender reassignment surgery in Thailand in July 2008. She is a self-described computer geek, and holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She has a boyfriend named Mike that she hopes to marry. In the season premiere, she initially reveals her transgender status only to J.D.
It’s my hope that the editing of the upcoming Real World footage is as truthful as possible and aides in reversing the demonization members of the transgendered community have endured, especially among youth demographics.
All of that withstanding, MTV should put a greater emphasis on musical programming. If I were to suddenly land myself in their CEO’s position, I would schedule MTV(1) to play primarily music videos throughout their daily rotation, with biopics on top 10 artists playing during off-peak hours. MTV(2) would be mainly reality programming and game shows, along with documentaries. MTV also needs to do a better job at beefing up their usage of on demand content provider by many cable companies. They should classify their music videos into various genres available on demand, track the usage and post top lists online and in the on demand menus.
hazen makes a valid point but im sure the only reason they are going to be making more reality shows is to satisfy the demand. I read that most of you would like to see mtv go back to its roots and I just dont get that. If you want the music television go to that mtv channel that specializes in that content, mtv like many other channels has evolved throughout time and this is what we wanted sort to speak. If you dislike it, do what you said you would do, and disguard it, they will get the message, and adjust content accordingly.
Why not go back to formats like MTV Unplugged. That was by far one of my favorite shows. Keep the formatt simple, keep the audience live and small, find an intelligent host and let the music speak for itself.
The reality shows are like the Christian Right! They’re neither!
They should probably change the name of their network from MTV to BSTV, seeing as false advertising could get them sued, and “Bullshit” is quite a bit more suiting for them nowdays.
omg that tranny is gunna be humiliated on tv.
I totally think it’s wrong to mislead someone from the getgo. I think the transgendered should say what they are on the first date.
….yeah NO MORE REALITY SHOWS jjjjeeeeezzzz. I never watch MTV in the first place because the shows SUCK (for the most part, some are okay though, but I could live without them all). Either start playing MUSIC TELEVISION or change the name of the network to idk RTV (Reality Television)