| Broadcast area | Europe, Middle East, North Africa, Southeast Asia |
|---|---|
| Network | MTV |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 480i/576i 16:9 SDTV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Paramount International Networks |
| Sister channels | MTV Club MTV MTV Hits MTV Live MTV 80s MTV 00s |
| History | |
| Launched | 5 October 2020 |
| Replaced | MTV Rocks (Europe) MTV Music 24 (Netherlands) MTV (Southeast Asia) MTV Base (UK & Australia) |
| Closed | 28 April 2022 (in Russia) 14 December 2022 (in Belarus) |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Ziggo GO (Netherlands) | ZiggoGO.tv (Europe only) |
MTV 90s is an international music television channel from Paramount International Networks that plays music videos from 1990 until 1999. The channel is available in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Southeast Asia (excluding Malaysia). Originally launched as a temporary channel on MTV Classic in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 27 May to 24 June 2016, MTV 90s was launched as a standalone music television channel in Europe, replacing MTV Rocks on 5 October 2020. MTV Germany launched the show of the same name in April 2023.
From 27 May to 24 June 2016, MTV 90s was originally broadcast as a temporary pop-up channel in the United Kingdom and Ireland, which it replaced MTV Classic during that time period. The idents and promos from the pop-up channel would later be reused four years later, when MTV 90s was launched as a standalone channel in Europe on 5 October 2020.
MTV 90s was launched as a dedicated channel in Europe on 5 October 2020 at 05:00 CET, replacing MTV Rocks. The first music video to air on the channel was the song "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston.
On 1 March 2021, MTV 90s expanded its broadcast area to the Middle East and North Africa via the beIN Channels Network pay-TV service.[1]
On 26 May 2021, MTV 90s was launched in the Netherlands, replacing MTV Music 24.[2]
As part of restructuring at Paramount Global UK & Australia, MTV Base was replaced by MTV 90s in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 6 am on 31 March 2022.[3]
As part of restructuring at Paramount Networks EMEAA, MTV 90s was officially launched in the Asia Pacific region replacing MTV Asia on 1 September 2022 at 12:10 AM. Visual updates, such as changing the strip, logo and the program title display, were also made, with the addition of the song's release year being added. Moreover, the programming was altered in that month to adapt to the new changes. MTV 90s was made available in some countries where its sister channel MTV Live already existed.
Since its launch, MTV 90s has been broadcasting in the format of the British music channel Now 90s. Unlike Now 90s (which the channel is broadcast in the United Kingdom), MTV 90s doesn't have any commercial advertising, as the channel is broadcasting from the Czech Republic to the regions of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and in parts of Southeast Asia (excluding Hong Kong, where it was replaced by MTV Live and in Malaysia, where it was also replaced by MTV Live but delayed by one hour).
MTV 90s has been broadcasting in 576i 16:9 standard definition since its launch on 5 October 2020. All of the music videos that are airing on MTV 90s have been previously digitized from MTV's archives in Camden Town, London. Like many of the MTV channels in Europe, music videos that were shot and edited in 4:3 aspect ratio are cropped to a 14:9 widescreen aspect ratio, while music videos that were shot and edited in 16:9 aspect ratio (but were shown in a letterboxed aspect ratio when they were originally broadcast) are shown either in its original aspect ratio or in a cropped 14:9 aspect ratio (with some slight letterboxing). However, some music videos may air in either a windowboxed or stretched aspect ratio (for music videos that are in 16:9 widescreen, but letterboxed) or in a cropped 16:9 aspect ratio (for music videos in 4:3).
The on-screen song information graphics (which features the artist, the song title, the album, and the year of the song in a rectangular strap, as well as the old MTV logo on the right side of the strap) that appear during the beginning and the end of each music video are based on the pre-recorded "MTV Strap" titles that were used on MTV Europe from its launch on 1 August 1987 until 1 March 1998 and on MTV Italy from its launch on 1 September 1997 until the beginning of 2001.
