MTV Is Officially Bringing TRL Back

Source –  On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Chris McCarthy, the newish president of MTV, was standing at a corner of 44th Street and Broadway and gazing up at the second floor of Viacom’s Manhattan headquarters.

Mr. McCarthy, 42, was looking at the space that used to house “Total Request Live,” the MTV afternoon show from 1998 to 2008 that helped make the host, Carson Daly, a star and was a must-stop destination for musicians, Times Square gawkers and advertisers eager to reach a young audience. That was then. Ratings at MTV in the last five years have nose-dived, turnaround strategies have failed and the cable network’s parent company, Viacom, has watched its stock go into free fall.

So, what’s a media executive to do? Apparently, bring back “TRL.” Mr. McCarthy said “TRL” would return in October, and a massive studio facing Times Square was under construction in the hope of capturing the old magic. “If we’re going to come back and reinvent MTV, the studio is a given,” he said. “It is the centerpiece.”

“MTV at its best — whether it’s news, whether it’s a show, whether it’s a docu-series — is about amplifying young people’s voices,” he said. “

In October, MTV will unveil the revival of “TRL.” The original iteration — which featured a countdown of music videos, a studio audience and frequent appearances from star musicians — was, in a way, a throwback itself, an updated version of “American Bandstand.”

I was happier than a Trader Joe’s cashier when I read this. There have been rumblings of a TRL comeback for a while now so I’m glad they finally pulled the trigger. TRL ruled the early to mid-2000’s. It was like religion. Come home from school, pop on the Hitachi and see who Carson Daily was introducing next. For the Robbie Foxx’s of the world who may not know or care about TRL: it was essentially home base for every upcoming and established talent on the planet. One day they’d have Tom Cruise, 50 Cent and Mariah Carey and the next they’d have a bunch of unknowns like Eminem, Jessica Simpson and the Jack Ass boys. TRL launched music careers the way Johnny Carson launched comedy careers. It’s wild when you think about it. MTV was able to essentially host an hour long concert, every day, for almost a decade. Which in TV world is unheard of- most shows go off the air after a few seasons.

Unfortunately, just like video killed the radio star, the internet killed the video star. Everything was getting too expensive and young people were consuming their media via the ever convenient interwebs. They’ve  never been able to recover since the TRL days. Not for a lack of trying. It seems like every couple years they completely clean house and bring in new “management.” Which never works. They’ve had some hits, Rob & Big, The Challenge, Wild N Out but it’s nothing like the hay day.

I will say, the odds seemed stacked against them.  Aren’t they just going to run into the same problems they had before? I.E. no one watches TV. It does seem like a natural share online, maybe their plan is for it to be a be a huge social show. Throw all the content online and hope for clicks. I’d watch.

Regardless, I hope they give it enough time. Too often they put a show on the air, don’t invest enough money or time in it, then act confused when it doesn’t stick. I know, I worked there. It seems like they’re investing some serious dough in making this thing work so I hope it does. I’m rooting for them. Can’t wait for the premier in October.