MTV President Says 'TRL' Isn't Canceled But Actually Expanding

Despite early word from TMZ, it sounds like TRL is not getting the ax after all and actually expanding later in this year, as per MTV President Chris McCarthy's new interview with the Hollywood Reporter

"It's thriving. We're expanding the franchise and will have three TRLs by summer," McCarthy told THR. "TRL has delivered incredible growth on linear, and we've experienced two to three times the growth in our video streams, and TRL is a big piece of it — and that's why we're expanding it; we want more."

Contrary to reports, the show will return on April 9 as scheduled and there are additional plans for morning and late-night offshoots. That means that at least some kind of version of TRL will air three times a day on the linear networking beginning this summer. While MTV has been quietly piloting an on-air late-night version of the franchise, details around the morning show have slowly surfaced. According to THR, the hour-long program will be "pure music play" without commercials and feature a more traditional video countdown as well as music performances. No host for the program has been announced.

"We've always had the March hiatus planned," McCarthy admitted of the flagship afternoon edition. "We're expanding to target different demographics and dayparts. … All three [versions of TRL] will be airing by June. We have no plans of not having TRL on our linear network; there won't be a time when we don't have it on. The show has been killing it for us."

Photo: Getty Images


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