MTV Video Music Awards has many people wondering whether the longtime popular cable network has completely lost its appeal.

The ratings for the VMAs over the past few years have steadily declined. Even though MTV Video Music Awards scored a 6.4 Rating Up 23% From 2006 it won’t change what really lies ahead. So you recruit a glorified highly talked about TRAIN WRECK to capture the EYES for a second – now what? This is nothing more than a crack head feeling a RUSH for that one second before he hits rock bottom.

Exploiting Britney Spears for ratings is not a long term strategic plan – thats not even a band aid. Thats called a desperate act – the last breath before you die – if you listen close enough you may even hear the DEATH RATTLE. Not only that, its a shameful inhumane tactic. MTV must have a struck a deal with the DEVIL but the DEVIL doesn’t have partners, only VICTIMS…..

Hearing insane statements from a rapper who is having a meltdown and who claims that MTV does not support black people is no longer shocking. We watch it once, laugh, forget about it and go about our day.

MTV programming isn’t what it used to be, pop culture experts told ABCNews.com, but then again, neither is the entertainment industry.

Viewers have many more options for entertainment, and no longer rely solely on MTV, making the audience even harder to impress and the seats even harder to fill with celebrities who are spread thin across various outlets.

“[MTV’s] biggest problem is that, in 1981, they were the only game in town, there was nothing like them,” said Bob Thompson, pop culture guru and professor at Syracuse University.

“But that bird has flown. In the 80s, if you were a kid, MTV was where you went,” said Thompson. “Now, kids have Comedy Central, Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network — there are so many other places providing entertainment.

“I don’t think MTV is ever going to reach the cultural heights where it was in the 1980s,” said Thompson. What makes these cable networks work is a few good hits. Nothing is the same as getting a big hit that everyone is talking about.”

Overall, some critics said this year’s show was also less glamorous than years past, set at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas, rather than more upscale locales like New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

“In the 80s and 90s, the VMAs were really elaborate, and the amount of money spent was truly extravagant,” said Phil Gallo, associate editor of Variety

The Bottom Line: The overall consensus from bloggers and media outlets was that MTV lost its appeal and was tame and lame. The shock value has replaced artistry. The problem is that there is no more value in shock.