MTV Launched 45 Years Ago This Month With a Song Almost Nobody Actually Wanted to Play First

MTV Launched 45 Years Ago This Month With a Song Almost Nobody Actually Wanted to MTV signed on at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on August 1, 1981, opening with the phrase “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll” before rolling its first-ever music video: The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star.” This month marks 45 years since that launch, and the choice of opening song was far more contested internally than the network’s tidy origin story usually lets on. Key Points MTV launched at 12:01 a.m.

Published: August 29, 2026 at 08:00PM on Source: VENUS MAG

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