MTV Stopped Playing Music Videos. Someone Built a Site to Bring Them All Back.

by | Jan 5, 2026 | CULTURE, MUSIC, NEWS

For a lot of people, MTV wasn’t background noise. It was the place where you learned what music looked like. You didn’t just hear a song, you watched it. Whole afternoons vanished in front of the TV, waiting to see what came on next.

As of December 31, that era officially closed another door. MTV has shut down many of its remaining 24 hour music only channels across the U.K. and several other countries, including MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV, and MTV Live. The final video aired on MTV Music was fittingly “Video Killed the Radio Star,” the first music video ever broadcast when MTV launched in the U.S. in 1981.

And then, almost immediately, someone on Reddit did what the internet occasionally still does best, they built an alternative. 

The site is called MTV Rewind, hosted at wantmymtv.xyz, and it does exactly what MTV no longer does. It plays music videos. All day. No commentary, no reality TV, no ads, no algorithm pushing you toward something else.

Just videos. Everything that once lived on Headbanger’s Ball and Yo! MTV Raps, organized and flowing through the decades.

According to its creator, the archive includes roughly 27,000 music videos spanning from the 1970s through 2025. You hit play and it behaves like classic television. You do not choose what comes next. You watch what’s on. 


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RVA Staff

RVA Staff

Since 2005, the dedicated team at RVA Magazine, known as RVA Staff, has been delivering the cultural news that matters in Richmond, VA. This talented group of professionals is committed to keeping you informed about the events and happenings in the city.




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