''Dial MTV'' was a daily, music promo/video countdown on MTV, as determined by viewers calling a 1-800 telephone number."Dial MTV" 1992. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0306311/ It premiered February 17, 1986 and ran until June 1991. Much like ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...

'', ''Dial MTV'' played the most requested videos of the day, as requested by viewers who dialed in (hence, the name) to vote for their favorite video. The show generally aired Monday through Friday for 30 minutes to one hour. The scheduling and length fluctuated over the years. By 1989 the top twelve videos were shown daily. The show had several different hosts, including Martha Quinn in 1986. The best known in the US was long-haired

Adam Curry Adam Clark Curry (born September 3, 1964) is an American podcaster, announcer, Internet entrepreneur and media personality, known for his stint as a VJ on MTV and being one of the first celebrities to personally create and administer Web site ...

, also a VJ on MTV's '' Headbangers Ball'' from 1987–1989. On

MTV Europe MTV Global (formerly as MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV, a 24-hour music and entertainment TV channel that began broadcasting on August 1, 1987, as part of the worldwide MTV network. Initially, MTV serve ...

, the show was hosted by

Rebecca de Ruvo Rebecca Anna de Ruvo (born 6 December 1969 in Stockholm), is a Swedish TV presenter, actress, artist and model who is best known as host of the then new MTV Europe during the early 1990s. De Ruvo became known as the first Swedish VJ on MTV. Car ...

. Hard rock power ballads and even heavy metal songs often fared very well, even better than their concurrent performance on the Billboard Top 40 chart.

Home Sweet Home Home Sweet Home may refer to: Film * Home, Sweet Home (1914 film), ''Home, Sweet Home'' (1914 film), a film about the life of John Howard Payne * Home Sweet Home (1917 film), ''Home Sweet Home'' (1917 film), a British silent film * Home Sweet ...

by Mötley Crüe held the #1 position for over 90 Days in 1986, causing MTV to invoke the "Crüe Rule", terminating a video's eligibility 30 days after its premiere. However by 1988, the rules were loosened and

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

Pour Some Sugar On Me "Pour Some Sugar on Me" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album '' Hysteria''. It reached number 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 23 July 1988, behind "Hold On to the Nights" by Richard Marx. "Pour Some Sugar ...

held the top spot for over 10 weeks that summer. The program's request phone number, 1-800-DIAL-MTV (1-800-342-5688) remained in use for years after the program's cancellation as part of future live MTV programming, including MTV's Most Wanted, its direct replacement in June 1991, which ran until 1996, and ''

''.

References

MTV original programming MTV weekday shows American music chart television shows 1986 American television series debuts 1996 American television series endings 1980s American music television series 1990s American music television series English-language television shows {{US-nonfiction-tv-prog-stub