Team,
We are fighting a war against TikTok and Netflix. Candidly—and this doesn’t leave the building—MTV is not currently winning that war. I believe there’s still a path to victory, but we need to honestly assess our situation before we can confidently chart a course forward.
At MTV, we make the mold, and then we break the mold. That means turning over every rock to mine the unexplored depths of American youth culture. And you’ve done that! The pitches you sent me in Q4 have run the gamut: Beach Teenagers, Dangerous Youths, and Fun Rural People are all in our wheelhouse. Admittedly, I don’t always get the chance to read every one of your ideas, but I see them, or at least the subject lines. Still, our ratings continue to sink.