The insane rise and fall of MTV

May 30, 2026

1:04

Did you know MTV's rise changed American culture forever — yet its founder, Tom Freston, almost sold it off early on? That's the surprising truth that hits hard. In the late 70s, MTV launched with a simple idea: music videos. According to My First Million, Freston and team knew they had something special but also faced doubts. The key was programming for a very specific audience — teenagers craving visual music. But here’s where it gets crazy: the network’s success was built on the gamble of building legacy IP like SpongeBob later on, and Freston’s team was hyper-focused on cultural impact, not just ratings. Still, as My First Million notes, the same boldness led to near-misses — like almost selling Facebook or turning down MySpace. This story isn’t just about TV; it’s about how culture-changing ideas often come with big risks and even bigger lessons about resilience. If MTV’s story teaches us anything, it’s that the biggest wins often come from daring to do things differently, even when everyone else doubts you.

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Episode 829: Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) sits down with Tom Freston to talk about the insane story of starting MTV and shaping America in the 80s and 90s.
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Show Notes:
(0:00) Intro
(4:04) Millionaire by 26, broke by 33
(8:49) The first days of MTV (no frontal nudity)
(14:14) Music Videos
(19:03) How to spot culture-changing talent
(27:12) Making your employees party together
(31:56) Nickelodeon, SpongeBob, and Building Legacy IP
(35:21) Programming for a Specific Audience
(37:33) The Facebook Acquisition That Almost Happened
(41:25) Founders Who Refuse to Sell
(43:29) Rupert Murdoch vs. Sumner Redstone
(45:23) MySpace, Big Bets, and Getting Fired
(47:55) Inside the writers room
(51:33) Oprah Calling
(54:00) The End of Monoculture and the Creator Economy

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Links:
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My First Million is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media // Production by Arie Desormeaux // Editing by Ezra Bakker Trupiano /

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