MTV President Says ‘TRL’ Not Canceled but Actually Expanding

Despite an earlier cancellation report, MTV is not cancelling Total Request Live.

The show, better known as TRL, is actually expanding into multiple time slots, Billboard reports. MTV president Chris McCarthy revealed there will soon be morning and late-night versions of the music video countdown show.

On the morning version, McCarthy said to “imagine the Today Show, but through a music filter … [It will be] a pure one-hour music block that’ll be almost a visualization of your playlist, as well as performances and interviews.”

The reason for the expansion is said to be because of the way the show has reached a younger demographic each afternoon. MTV also has seen the show’s stream counts grow by triple digits and claims it drives 20% of MTV’s social engagements. That statistic but it above every other show on the network, including Teen Mom, The Challenge and Catfish.

Besides being described as a ratings success, McCarthy also claimed the TRL serving as a testing ground of sorts to drive their future growth.

“And [to] be honest with you, the most amazing thing has been that 300 kids come in the building everyday,” McCarthy said. “It is literally like a focus group for us every day. It’s a living laboratory and it’s part of what’s allowed us to move so quickly and evolve the franchise and capitalize on the growth. In many ways, because we’re live every day, we’ve been using it almost as a startup and it allows us to quickly evolve and it’s had a big role in driving our success.”

The show is slated to return in its usual time slot on April 9.

TMZ initially reported that employees were informed of the show’s cancellation over email. It was said that the TRL brand would “pivot to short form content that will be featured on social and digital platforms.” However, these new statements completely contradict that report.

The original run of TRL became a cultural staple after it began in 1998. Host Carson Daly led the broadcast as it welcomed music A-listers including Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Eminem, Mariah Carey and countless others. The broadcast was particularly known for its Times Square headquarters were troves of fans would wait outside to catch glimpses of stars through the studio’s glass windows.

Things went downhill over the years with the initial iteration of show airing its final broadcast on Nov. 16, 2008. It went out with a star-studded farewell special that included included Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Eminem, Nelly, Snoop Dogg, Christina Aguilera and Taylor Swift.

After a few one-off specials over the years, MTV officially revived the show with a slate of young hosts and correspondents in 2017. They were mostly social media personalities with large online followings, such as DC Young Fly, Erik Zachary, Gabbie Hanna, Gigi Gorgeous and The Dolan Twins.