MTV (formerly an initialism of Music Television) is an American basic cable and satellite television channel owned by Viacom Music and Entertainment Group, a unit of the Viacom Media Networks division of Viacom. The channel itself is headquartered in New York City, and is a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. Launched on August 1, 1981, the original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by television personalities known as "video jockeys," or VJs. In its early years, MTV's main target demographic were young adults, but today, MTV's programming is primarily targeted at teenagers and consists mostly of reality shows and off-network syndicated programs.

MTV has spawned numerous sister channels in the U.S. and affiliated channels internationally, some of which have gone independent. MTV's influence on its audience, including issues related to censorship and social activism, has been a subject of debate for years.

As of February 2015, approximately 93,240,000 American households (80.1% of households with television) received MTV.