Finally! They're putting the 'M' back into MTV.

MTV network president Sean Atkins has announced the cable channel will screen more music programming. Which, after all, was the whole point when it launched.

To its younger viewers, MTV is synonymous with trashy reality shows, including Teen Mom (underage parents who communicate with their fists) and Ex on the Beach (dimwits trapped on an island with their psychotic ex-lovers). And who can forget Jersey Shore? (Lumps of shouty testosterone drowning in fake tan).

It's a far cry from 1981, when MTV exploded onto the scene with non-stop music videos. It made superstars of Prince, Madonna and Cyndi Lauper. It kicked Michael Jackson's career into the stratosphere. And its slogan, "I want my MTV!", became the catch-cry of a generation. (At least, that's what the narrator of every documentary about the 1980s will tell you.)

By 2010, the station finally chopped the words "Music Television" from its logo.

It was a long time coming. Several years earlier, MTV began shunting music to its Hits channel (known as MTV Music in Australia).

Some saw this as an admission that videos – or any type of music programming – are not sufficiently attractive in an era of YouTube (and rampant piracy).

To others, it was an indictment on the clips themselves.

In the '80s, videos were playful, joyous, experimental (Lauper's Girls Just Want to Have Fun is a great example.) Now, most are teeth-grindingly similar. No narrative; each is just an extended boast, with armies of hard-bodied dancers mimicking the singer's every move.

But what MTV replaced these clips with isn't quite working. As Atkins told Variety, he wants to turn around his business.

"The story of a major network sort of having a stumbling block and finding its way back has been written many, many times – about almost every network of note – and so that's the journey MTV is on," he said.

"It's not going to be short or easy, but we are coming out loud and proud."

This prompted him to commission what is MTV's first live music performance series in nearly 20 years.

It's working title is Wonderland. Set in a Los Angeles "artistic space" that "puts musicians and comedians together", it will be a "multi-streamed viewing experience". (I'm as baffled as you are.)

More promisingly, he has approved a new version of MTV Unplugged – a series that launched in 1989, allowing artists to play in stripped-back fashion. Among its alumni are Bob Dylan, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Eric Clapton and Lauryn Hill.

There is also The Mark Burnett Music Competition, in which undiscovered hip hop artists audition for music's biggest moguls.

Atkins said viewers are demanding more music. But not more clips, necessarily.

"People would ask us, 'Why isn't there music?' ... not, 'Why isn't there music videos?"

Whether these new programs will appeal to youth – or nostalgic older viewers – is unclear. According to Variety, the network's revenue has declined, and advertisers are worried about its "thematic drift". The publication said these fresh commissions – and several other new reality, comedy and documentary shows – "are inspired by a renewed focus on music and youth culture".

The announcement follows confirmation of a movie called I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution.

It will be written, directed and produced by James Ponsoldt, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and will trace the founding and first 10 years of the network. "As a child of the 1980s, MTV had a massive impact on me," said Ponsoldt, who also helmed The Spectacular Now.

In Australia, MTV launched in 1987 as a stand-alone show on Channel Nine, and was hosted by Richard Wilkins. It is now a 24-hour channel on Foxtel.

Acknowledging the generational divide between fans, the US company announced its fresh programs thusly: "MTV's new shows will make your uncle shut up about how we don't play music anymore."