MTV India Shutting Down Feels Personal for 90s Kids, Marks End of an Era

The news of MTV India shutting down has struck an unexpectedly emotional chord with audiences who grew up in the 1990s and early 2000s. For an entire generation, MTV was not just another television channel but a formative cultural force that shaped music tastes, fashion choices, language, and even worldviews. As reports of restructuring and shutdowns trend online, the reaction has gone far beyond casual nostalgia, reflecting a deeper sense of loss among so-called “90s kids.”

The renewed buzz around MTV comes amid global restructuring by its parent company Paramount Global, which has been streamlining its portfolio by shutting down or reworking several linear television channels. As media consumption rapidly shifts toward digital-first platforms, traditional music television—once the backbone of MTV’s identity—has steadily lost relevance.

In India, MTV had already evolved away from its original format years ago. The channel transitioned from a pure music broadcaster to a youth entertainment platform dominated by reality shows and non-music programming. However, with younger audiences now discovering music and pop culture through streaming services, social media, and short-video platforms, the concept of scheduled music television has become increasingly outdated.

What makes the moment poignant is that MTV did not vanish abruptly. Instead, it faded gradually, almost quietly, as digital platforms took over. For many viewers, the current news merely confirms what they had sensed for years: an era they grew up with has officially come to an end.

During its peak, watching MTV required patience. Viewers waited for their favourite songs, sat through tracks they didn’t like, and endured ad breaks because there was no rewind or replay. That anticipation made the experience deeply personal. When a favourite music video finally aired, it felt like a small victory. In a world before algorithms and instant gratification, MTV taught young audiences the joy of waiting.

MTV India also served as a gateway to global pop culture. It introduced Indian teenagers to international artists at a time when access to global media was limited. For many middle-class households, MTV was the first international channel that felt accessible, exciting, and youth-centric.

Equally influential were the channel’s video jockeys, who felt less like distant celebrities and more like familiar faces. VJs such as Cyrus Broacha, Mini Mathur, Maria Goretti, Sophie Choudry, and Nikhil Chinapa shaped how a generation spoke, dressed, and expressed itself. Their Hinglish conversations, casual confidence, and global outlook made individuality feel aspirational at a time when conformity was often the norm.

Beyond music, MTV created some of India’s most influential youth-oriented shows. Programmes like MTV Roadies, Splitsvilla, and MTV Bakra became shared cultural experiences, debated in classrooms, college canteens, and living rooms. Watching MTV was a collective ritual, not a solitary scroll.

As MTV India prepares to go off-air, what many are mourning is not just a channel, but a phase of growing up that felt communal, curious, and rebellious. The shutdown symbolises the end of a time when music discovery was shared, youth culture felt unified, and television had the power to shape identity. For 90s kids, the goodbye is deeply personal—not because they still watch MTV, but because they once lived on it.