Judy McGrath, Chairman and CEO of MTV Networks, officially opened the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) Summit this morning, reminding us that the iconic MTV will celebrate its 25th birthday this year. I spent the next several minutes trying to expunge nostalgic images of parachute pants, Madonna in “Material Girl” mode and ’80s big hair. I snapped out of my sentimental interlude in time to catch a glimpse of a slide sporting the more than 100 entertainment brands MTV has since spawned. And to reinforce the point that her baby has come a long way, McGrath showed one of the network’s earliest spots. A short-shorts-clad young woman roller-skates through town with a clunky “portable” TV (tuned to MTV, of course) perched on her shoulder and its taut, plugged-in power cord trailing behind. “Now, that was the height of mobility back then,” McGrath said.

More than music has changed in the 25 years of MTV. “We’re all about media brands; we're not just TV brands anymore,” McGrath proclaimed, adding that the network now counts “streams as well as eyeballs” and enters no deals that don’t offer multiple platforms to disseminate the company’s content. As McGrath went on to talk more about mobility, video streaming and social networking, my mind tuned back in to MTV, circa ’81, as the lyrics of the first video played on the network roller-skated through my head. Video killed the radio star. In my mind and in my car, we can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far...