- MTV airs it first music video in 1981 with The Buggles' song - Video killed the radio star.
- The first annual MTV video music awards show airs featuring appearances from Madonna to Cyndi Lauper.
- The first episode of The Real World premiers featuring seven cast members picked to live in a house in New York. 1992.
- MTV 2 is launched in 1996.
- Total Request Live (TRL) airs for the fist time on MTV featuring the top 10 most requested videos as voted by fans. 1998.
- Jackass first airs on MTV in 2000.
- Ozzy Osbourne goes from video star to mumbling, bumbling reality-TV curiosity, thanks to "The Osbournes." 20002.
- MTV launched The Hills in 2006. A reality TV show based around the glamourous lives of young adults living in Beverley Hills. This was the start of fast growing TV shows, targeting teens.
- MTV "celebrates" its 25th anniversary. Not on the air, but on mtv.com - where it rebroadcasts the first hour of the network. 2006.
- Reality kills the video star, once and for good - thanks to "Jersey Shore." It becomes MTV's highest-rated show to date - more than 10 million viewers and five times the entire reach of the network when it debuted in 1981. 2009.
