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MTV Is Turning 25 This Week

The MTV, which is probably known to all, and not only to entertainment and music fans, is celebrating its 25th birthday. The famous music channel was first launched on 1 August 1981 and attracted the public immediately with pop videos "on demand", competitions and enthusiastic "VJs" (video jockeys) who became almost as famous as the entertainment and music stars they introduced. Today the world`s first 24-hour rolling music channel is less of a TV station than an international corporation, broadcasting to 1.3 billion people in 179 countries through 78 different channels.

Some of the landmark moments in MTV`s early years were the world premiere of Michael Jackson`s Thriller video, the Live Aid concerts in 1985 and the birth of the MTV Video Music Awards. The first time the station extended outside the US was in 1987 with the launch of MTV Europe. The most famous VJs say they really loved working on MTV, even though it was high-demanding, because of the opportunity to be yourself and express your own music and entertainment taste.

With the network`s expansion, the demand for other, not only music-based, entertainment programs had increased. MTV is now showing, among others, animated cartoons and reality shows. The increasing popularity of the Internet which provided a rival outlet for the entertainment and music showcasing, packaging and distributing music to the so-called "MTV generation" is probably the major reason for MTV`s progress.