Anyone with Sky or Virgin Media TV in their homes will suddenly find they have fewer things to watch this week. It was revealed back in October that some MTV services were being taken off air, now that change has been officially confirmed. A quick look at the TV listings shows that channels including MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live will all stop broadcasting from December 31.

A message reads, “This channel is now closed”, when trying to view what’s coming next. MTV has been showing music for almost 40 years, but it seems the shift to streaming means fewer consumers are tuning in.

Although the music services are being axed, the MTV HD channel will remain on air. This service shows reality series, including Naked Dating UK and Geordie Shore.

Stations in Asia, Australia and Latin America are also reportedly set to be axed, with a source telling The Sun that MTV has been “a victim of the rise of streaming”.

“It’s a dark day for the music industry,” the source said.

“MTV was once an industry powerhouse but now is a total shell of its former self.”

MTV is renowned for defining youth culture for decades and launching countless music and TV careers. Since it began broadcasting in 1981, it has also changed how music has been consumed, marketed, and visualised.

Along with those MTV channels, there’s more bad news for viewers.

It’s also been announced that four Children’s TV channels are being removed as well. It’s been confirmed that Pop, Tiny Pop, Pop+1 and Tiny Pop+1 will all closing permanently at the end of the year.

That means a total of 9 channels will disappear from the listings page.