what year did mtv debut on cable television?
MTV, in full Music Television, cable television network that began as a 24-hour platform for music videos. MTV debuted just after midnight on August 1, 1981, with the broadcast of âVideo Killed the Radio Starâ by the Buggles. Following the format of Top 40 radio, video disc jockeys (or âveejaysâ) introduced videos and bantered about music news between clips. After an initial splash, the network struggled in its early years.