MTV Global (formerly MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV as 24-hour music video and entertainment pay television network officially launched on 1 August 1987 as part of the worldwide MTV network.
Initially, MTV served all regions of Europe, being one of the few TV channels focused on the entire European market. At the moment, MTV serves a number of European countries, African, Asian, Oceanian, Middle Eastern and Caribbean territories.
Over the years, MTV Global has been divided into many different channels for certain countries. Most countries in Europe, Asia, Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean now have their own versions of the channel, and therefore MTV Global is now mostly available in those countries where there is no localized version of MTV.
History
On 1 August 1987 at 00:01 BST, MTV Europe officially launched with an Elton John concert in Amsterdam at the Roxy Club marked in conjunction with MTV, as a commemoration of its sixth anniversary. The first video clip shown on the air was "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits. Moreover, the beginning and end of the clip were supplemented with the slogan "I want my MTV", voiced by Sting. The initiator of the launch of MTV in Europe was Robert Maxwell. Then his company Robert Maxwell Group with British Telecom and Viacom (the copyright holder of the "MTV" brand) in joint cooperation, created the MTV Europe TV channel. The office was located in London at 40 Conduit St.
The channel was launched in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden; a year later MTV Europe expanded to West Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece and Norway. The channel was immediately accepted into 1.6 million households.
The original line-up of VJs included presenters from Belgium, Denmark and France, as well as Ray Cokes and Steve Blame from the UK. Since that time, MTV has popularized the use of the term VJ to describe their profession.
At that time, such programs as MTV's Greatest Hits, Headbanger's Ball, MTV's Most Wanted, The Big Picture (a program about cinema), The Pulse (about fashion and style), 120 Minutes and MTV Coca-Cola Report (music news, interviews and tour dates of musicians) were produced.
In February 1988, MTV Europe moved to the Camden Town area at 20-23 Mandela St.
In October of the same year, the management of MTV Europe visited the Soviet Union for preliminary negotiations on the start of work. At the same time, an application for registration of the TV channel was submitted.
In 1989, MTV Europe covered the Moscow Music Festival live from the Lenin Stadium. At the same time, the TV channel started in East Berlin, East Germany. Soviet artists officially debuted on MTV in the summer of 1989. The Moscow group "Cruise" released the Hit for MTV manifesto song at the same time.
In February 1990, MTV Europe was launched in Poland and Czechoslovakia. In the same year, Viacom bought 25% of MTV Europe's shares from British Telecom.
In early 1991, Metromedia International Group together with Lencentel signed a contract with MTV Europe for 5 years, this is the first contract for broadcasting a foreign channel signed in the USSR. On March 8, 1991, the channel began broadcasting in Leningrad, and later in other major cities, which made it possible to become the first Western 24-hour channel that could be received in the USSR.
Nirvana led the rapid transition to the rise of alternative rock and grunge on MTV in 1991, releasing a video clip for the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. In the early-mid-1990s, MTV added gangsta rappers with a less pop sound to its rotation, such as Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, Ice Cube, Warren G, Ice-T, Dr. Dre, Us and Snoop Dogg.
In August 1991, Viacom bought the remaining 50.1% of the shares from Robert Maxwell Group, because the London-based company was short of cash, and sold its assets as part of efforts to reduce debts accumulated during aggressive acquisitions in the 1980s.
By 1992, MTV Networks Europe had become the largest pan-European broadcasting company. MTV Europe was hosted by 38 million households in 28 countries.
In 1993, MTV Europe moved to a new office at 180 Oxford Street. But the programs were filmed at the Breakfast television center on 17-29 Hawley Crescent, which was completely bought out by MTV Networks Europe.
From 1990 to 1996, MTV programs were rebroadcast on the central TV channels of Russia – "VID", "ORT", "2x2", "TV-6", "Muz-TV" and others. Also from 1992 to 1994 on the Polish TV channel TVP1.
The channel launched the premieres of the following programs: Beavis and Butthead, Æon Flux, The Brothers Grunt, etc.