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This just in: The kids want their MTV again.
For the first time in six years, the once hot but long forgotten cable network had an increase in its summer ratings, Bob Bakish, the chief executive of MTV parent Viacom, told Wall Street on Wednesday.
Between 2001 and 2016, MTV lost 50 percent of its core audience — the coveted 18-to-49 age group, according to Nielsen.
The 53-year-old Bakish, who assumed the top job at Viacom last October, has been busy bringing in new leadership at the moribund MTV and upgrading its programming.
Bakish also merged the network with VH1. New shows started rolling out in late June.
One of the new shows, “Siesta Key,” made its debut on July 31.
“We moved quick, and we’re at the place where we have a first-rate team,” said Bakish, speaking at the Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia conference.
The CEO said MTV’s prime-time ratings grew 20 to 30 percent this summer — a spike helped by programs like “Siesta Key.”
Bakish also touted the return of “TRL” (Total Request Live) on Oct. 2.
The live daily show, an MTV staple from 1998 to 2008, will air from its former, now expanded studio in Times Square.
“TRL” will feature five hosts instead of original emcee Carson Daly, and pursue a strong presence on social media.
“MTV Unplugged,” which aired regularly from 1989 to 1999, is coming back as well.
The premiere is set for Sept 8, with Shawn “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” Mendes rebooting the franchise.
MTV’s initiatives follow Bakish’s decision in February to concentrate on just six of Viacom’s 25 cable-channel brands: BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Spike and MTV.
Since narrowing its focus, the CEO said, Viacom has in- vested resources in the chosen six to let them “flourish” and “diversify.”
The capital reallocation exercise appears to be paying off at other Viacom properties. BET’s overall ratings are up 20 to 30 percent for the summer, Bakish said.
Analysts nonetheless caution that years of Viacom neglect will not be easy for MTV to overcome.
“It’s the beginning of the turnaround,” Michael Nathanson, the MoffettNathanson analyst, told The Post. “Like baseball, it’s a long season — but the early signs are encouraging.”
Bakish, however, still has some domestic plays in him.
The CEO, who previously ran Viacom’s international operations, launched an MTV offering expressly for mobile 18 months ago in Japan.
He noted on Wednesday that Japanese consumption of MTV on mobile devices was already greater than it was on television.
“That’s the canary in the coal mine,” he said.