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The last music videos played on MTV music-only channels.
MTV’s music-only channels all but went dark on New Year’s Eve in 2025. The network did a fitting send-off for seven of its major mediums before calling it quits.
MTV strategically selected final videos to be aired for viewers. Some represented blasts to the past. Others conveyed “goodbye” messages. The final video provided a full-circle moment.
The network was launched on August 1, 1981, to give viewers music-related programming which included blocks of music videos.
At the time, popularity of music videos was rising. Artists were spending millions to create massive productions promoting their singles and albums. You can find the most expensive of those projects HERE.
In the 1990s, there was a shift away from videos and into reality television and adult animations, though music related content was still the focal point. In 1997, four shows were created specifically to air music videos. This eventually transformed into TRL with Carson Daly.
Slowly but surely, reality TV took complete control. Today’s schedule, for example, consists of reruns of Ridiculousness and Jersey Shore, as well as a late-night airing of Next Friday.
That transition all but ended music-only channels, though MTV Classic still plays blocks of videos from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s.
On the final day of 2025, MTV pulled the plug on seven mediums to include MTV Music, MTV 00s, MTV 90s, MTV 80s, MTV Live, Club MTV, and MTV Germany.
What were the last videos played on those MTV channels?
We’ll provide a rundown of the final songs and videos to be featured on that New Year’s Eve night in 2025. Each holds significance that relates to specific channels.
Let’s start with the network’s “spinoffs” before ending with the main music-only platform.
Last video played on MTV 00s
This one’s fitting. NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” is one of the most popular songs and videos of the decade. It was the perfect selection for a 2000s sendoff.
The single was released on the band’s third studio album, No Strings Attached. It debuted at No. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100. Eventually, it peaked at No. 4 for a two-week stretch.
The music video, which had an estimated budget of $1 million, dropped in January of 2000. It was one of the first videos of the millennium and was attributed to the band’s wanting to get noticed by the network. It worked.
NSYNC won Best Pop Video of the year. A quarter-century later, it was the last to be played on the 00s channel.
Last video played on MTV 90s
The MTV 90s channel went out in similar style with a farewell message to fans. In this case, it came in the form of the Spice Girls’ late 1990s hit, “Goodbye.”
The single was released in 1998 and later included on the group’s Forever album. It went No. 1 in the UK and debuted at No. 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The accompanying music video was filmed in Buckinghamshire and premiered on MTV in November of ’98.
It was actually the last video aired on two different channels. The song played just as MTV 90s signed off in 2025. A year earlier, it was the final video broadcast on England’s The Box.
Last video played on MTV 80s
“Together in Electric Dreams” was the last video to play on MTV’s 80s channel. The song was released by Philip Oakley and Giorgio Moroder in September of 1984.
The tune reached No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart and went Top 5 in Australia. In the US, it peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard Top Dance Club Songs.
The music video was created to promote the movie Electric Dreams, rather than the song itself. It was a great sendoff that combined film and music.
Last video played on MTV Live
Swedish songwriter Robyn released “Dancing on My Own” in April of 2010 as part of her fifth studio album, Body Talk. The electropop tune charted at No. 1 in Sweden, No. 2 in Denmark, and No. 3 in the US on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs.
The music video premiered a month after the song dropped. It featured a club scene with listeners jiving under strobe lights to the dance anthem.
MTV Live was the first international HD channel dedicated to music videos. It chose to go out with a Swedish bang.
Last video played on Club MTV
Rihanna’s 2007 hit single “Please Don’t Stop the Music” was the last music video played on Club MTV. The song, which was released on the singer’s Good Girl Gone Bad album, was a fitting last feature.
Taking place in a nightclub in Prague, the project encompasses everything that is Club MTV from setting, to vibe, to lyrics.
The single went No. 1 on European, Australian, and US dance charts. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Club MTV operated in the UK and Australia. The channel chose Rihanna to end its 25-year run of existence.
Last video played on MTV Germany
“Musique Non-Stop” was a 1986 single released by German techno band Kraftwerk. It was featured on the group’s ninth studio album, Electric Cafe, and later re-released as a remix on the ’91 album The Mix.
The tune went No. 1 on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. It’s essentially just a series of voices repeating over a beat.
Often, it was used as Kraftwerk’s final song during concerts. MTV Germany chose to make it its farewell, too.
Last video played on MTV Music
It’s no surprise that the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star” was chosen to end MTV Music’s run. It is the very first music video the network ever played in 1981.
The tune was viewers’ first introduction to MTV at 12:01 AM on that early August day. It only makes sense that it would be the final song played on the most popular music-only channel.
The song lyrics reference concerns about 20th-century innovation and its impact on media and art. It was representative of the network’s promotion of both music and film.
“Video Killed the Radio Star” was released in 1979 on the group’s The Age of Plastic album. It premiered on MTV two years later to make history.
The song went to No. 1 in Europe and Australia. It also topped Japanese charts between 1979 and 1980. In the US, it peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.
For the MTV network, it was a full-circle moment.