MTV Is Honoring Prince With a Purple Rain Airing

Network will pay tribute to the late music icon by airing his 1984 musical film

By Jean Bentley Apr 21, 2016 9:06 PMTags
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MTV is paying tribute to Prince with a dedicated block of programming through the night, hours after the iconic musician was found dead in his Minnesota estate on Thursday.

The tribute has already begun, with the network switching over to broadcasting only videos from the span of Prince's storied career. And at 7:10 p.m., you'll be able to see the first of two showings of the musician's 1984 rock musical, Purple Rain. (And no, the movie is not currently on Netflix.) In between, MTV will air archival interviews and behind-the-scenes moments.

The network, which changed its logo to purple for the entire day immediately after news of Prince's passing broke, issued the following statement about the legend's impact on music and culture.

Richard E. Aaron/Redferns

"MTV is heartbroken and in utter disbelief at the news that the world has lost Prince Rogers Nelson so suddenly and so before his time. Prince was a once-in-a-lifetime artist who transcended every medium and genre he touched and created music with a passion and individuality that inspired multiple generations. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family, friends and millions of fans."

Tomorrow (April 22) the network's Snapchat will be a full-on Prince takeover.

Here's the full schedule of MTV's Prince programming for Thursday, April 21:

Afternoon-7:10 p.m.: Prince music videos

7:10-10 p.m.: Purple Rain

10 p.m.-12:30 a.m.: Prince music videos

12:30-3 a.m.: Purple Rain

VH1 is also planning a tribute to Prince over the next few days and lasting through the weekend. Here's the schedule:

Thursday, April 21

5:30 p.m.: Purple Rain

8 p.m.: Prince music videos

10 p.m.: Purple Rain

12:30 a.m.: Prince music videos

Friday, April 22

12 p.m.: Purple Rain

10:30 p.m.: Purple Rain 

Saturday, April 23

9 a.m.: Purple Rain

4:30 p.m.: Purple Rain

Sunday, April 24

1 p.m.: Purple Rain

9 p.m.: Purple Rain

Prince's rep confirmed the news of the icon's passing to NBC News this morning, saying in a statement, "It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson, has died at his Paisley Park residence this morning at the age of 57. There are no further details as to the cause of death at this time."