MTV Rocks (formerly MTV Two, MTV2 Europe and M2) was a British

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...

music channel that was operated by

ViacomCBS Networks UK & Australia Paramount Networks UK & Australia (formerly ViacomCBS Networks UK & Australia) is a subsidiary of Paramount Global. The unit launched in 2020 and is based in London, United Kingdom, with a local office in Sydney, Australia. Units See als ...

. Its programming consisted of 24-hour non-stop rock/alternative music.

Format and history

The structure of the

MTV Networks Paramount Media Networks (formerly known as Warner Cable Communications, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, MTV Networks, Viacom Media Networks, and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks) is an American mass media division of Paramount Global tha ...

is different in Europe from in the United States and so the role that MTV Two plays is somewhat different. The various nation

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

channels remain the flagship channels bringing a wide variety of popular music and many different show formats (including documentaries, reality TV, charts, text shows, and countdowns) however digital satellite in the UK has allowed MTV to operate subsidiary channels with their own specialist areas. So while in the US

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

was a varied, slightly alternative channel in the past, in Europe MTV Two was dedicated exclusively to

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

and

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

, with the occasional

alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

song; while other music output carried on MTV Base, MTV Dance, and MTV Hits covering urban music ( hip hop,

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, R&B and

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

), electronic dance music, and chart music respectively. MTV Rocks initially began as M2 in October 1998: the channel had an interactive feel to it. Here viewers controlled the overall content of M2 in terms of its playlist and channel identity. The channel initially had limited availability only being available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, France, and Spain. In 2002, MTV Networks Europe expanded M2's availability across Europe and decided to rebrand M2 as MTV2 similar to the rebranding on its sister network in the United States. The structure of the

in the United States differed from its European counterpart. MTV2 Europe primarily focused on alternative indie themed shows and music videos, while MTV2 in the US focused on reality TV programming, alternative music videos and alternative hip-hop. The TV station was one of the first media outlets to lead with its website strategy and follow with the TV programming. Viewers could program an hour of television content via the website, designed by Brad Smith and Mickey Stretton with the agency Digit, it broadcast later that month. The website won a number of awards including a

BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Award The British Academy of Film and Television Arts ( BAFTA) annually hosted the BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards for multimedia entertainment between 1998 and 2003. In 2003, BAFTA announced the award would be split into two separate ceremonies � ...

. In the late 2000s, MTV2 Europe began to air a range of reality programming, but music was still the main focus of the channel. In 2000, the channel developed the first example of 360-degree programming. Viewers could choose an hour's worth of music and idents using the BAFTA-winning website, which would then be broadcast usually throughout the night with little or no manipulation by the channel. Viewers would be emailed their transmission time, their selection and the option to forward to friends. It was one of the first 100%

Adobe Flash Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia Computing platform, software platform used for production of Flash animation, animations, rich web applications, application software, desktop applications, mobile apps, mo ...

websites). In September 2002, MTV2 Europe introduced its own on-screen presentation and graphics, and started to use much more original programming, the jewel in the station's crown being ''Gonzo'', hosted by the then MTV UK & Ireland DJ and former

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

and regularly featuring interviews with bands along with contributions from members of the MTV2

Internet forum An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...

s. It was relaunched in 2006, moving from an hour-long format broadcasting every weekday to a single two-hour show on a Friday. The show won the

NME Award The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of ...

for Best TV Show in 2006. Unlike other MTV channels available in Europe which have regular commercial breaks, MTV 2 (as it was) ran without any advertising (apart from MTV promotions and idents) for large parts of the day, which was eventually reduced to midnight to 6 pm every day. Commercials shown were mainly for albums, DVDs, films and products that target the channel's main audience. However, from September 2005, MTV2 started to play these commercials during daytime, but still runs without interruptions throughout the night from 1 am. In 2007, following a rebranding of MTV's channels available in the United Kingdom, MTV2 Europe was briefly rebranded as MTV Two and the presentation was changed as part of MTV's wider efforts to amalgamate the five British MTV channels into a singular brand with a common identity: the new logo is similar to the other channels, with the channel's playlist represented by a ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

''-esque character who plays a

Flying V The Gibson Flying V is an electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1958. The Flying V offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its siblings: the Explorer, which was released the same year, and the Moderne, which was designed ...

guitar. On 1 March 2010, MTV Two was rebranded as MTV Rocks. The channel now reflects a similar on-air identity as other MTV Networks International's channels. The channel has a similar playlist and schedule as MTV2 Europe for the time being. On 10 January 2011, MTV Rocks launched in Italy replacing

MTV Brand New MTV Brand New was a 24-hour specialist music channel featuring new music videos, alternative and indie music available in the Netherlands, Germany. In Italy, it was replaced by MTV Rocks in 2011. The Italian version of the channel launched on 14 ...

. MTV Rocks began broadcasting in widescreen on 6 March 2012. In 2018 and 2019, MTV Rocks was temporarily rebranded as VH1 Christmas, which played Christmas-themed music until Boxing Day. Unlike MTV Xmas, it also played regular pop/mixed hits until early January. VH1 Christmas was formerly aired on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

from 2017 and was moved to MTV Rocks due to the former now being an entertainment channel. However, during

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

Awareness day, it used the MTV Rocks logo.

Closure

This channel, along with its sister channels

Club MTV ''Club MTV'' is a half hour television show modeled after ''American Bandstand'' that aired on MTV from August 31, 1987, to June 26, 1992. ''Club MTV'' was part of MTV's second generation of programming, as the channel was phasing out its origi ...

and

MTV OMG MTV OMG was a British pay television music channel operated by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. It launched on 1 March 2018, replacing free-to-air sister music channel Viva. The audience profile on Sky Media showed that the channel had a 60/40 ...

, was closed on 20 July 2020, with a chart based on the channel's former content moving to/airing on MTV Music. The final music video played on the channel was "

Don't Look Back in Anger "Don't Look Back in Anger" is a song by English rock band Oasis. It was written by the band's guitarist and main songwriter Noel Gallagher. The song was produced by Gallagher and Owen Morris. Released on 19 February 1996 as the fifth single fro ...

" by

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

European version

In 2014, MTV Rocks, as well as MTV Hits and MTV Dance, started broadcasting European versions, without commercials or teleshopping and without VH1 Christmas. The channels have a Czech license.

Programming

* Biggest! Hottest! Loudest! * Rock Solid Playlist * What's the Story? Morning Glory! * All Night Session * Then vs Now * Weekend Rocks * 70s Calling! * 80s Vs 90s Rock Legends * Supersonic 90s Anthems! * Smells Like 90s Anthems * 00s Nu-Rave! * 00s Indie Anthems! * Bands of the 10s! * Ultimate 10s Playlist! * Ultimate 21st Century Anthems! * Pop Punk vs the World! * Indie House Party Anthems! * Ultimate Weekend Anthems! * MTV Unplugged *MTV Rocks: Thnks fr th Mmrs! * ... vs. ... * ...: In Rotation * Top 5 / Top 10 / Top 20 / Top 30 / Top 50 / Top 100 * VH1 Christmas'' (during Christmas period of each year)

Previous programmes

Themed slots used to be a regular feature on the channel, as well as

SMS Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...

-oriented shows, showing viewers' text messages in an on screen chat forum, and shows like ''The Takeover'' where artists like

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

The Futureheads The Futureheads are an English post-punk band from Sunderland, formed in 2000. The band consists of Ross Millard (vocals and guitar), David "Jaff" Craig (vocals and bass guitar) and brothers Barry Hyde (vocals and guitar) and Dave Hyde (drums). ...

as well as former

Faith No More Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...

lead singer

Mike Patton Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, producer, film composer and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band Faith No More. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techni ...

present videos they have chosen from the MTV archives. The majority of the channel's output was made up of back-to-back music videos, with shows such as ''

Beavis and Butt-Head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, ...

'' and ''

Daria ''Daria'' is an American adult animation, adult animated sitcom created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis, Susie Lewis Lynn. The series ran from March 3, 1997, to January 21, 2002, on MTV. It focuses on the title character, Daria Morgendorffer, ...

'' aired occasionally. *M2 Europe **''Dodger Zone (M2)'': a nightly music video show hosted by an animated dog. **''M2 Creators:'' a daily music video show selected by viewers. **''M2 Startracks:'' a music video shows hosted by artists and bands. * MTV2 Europe **''MTV2 Riot'': a weekly heavy metal music show **''Text, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll (MTV2)'': interactive music show where viewers text in their requests. **''

120 Minutes ''120 Minutes'' is a television program in the United States dedicated to the alternative music genre, that originally aired on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then aired on MTV's associate channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003. After its cancellation, MTV ...

'': From early 2005, MTV Rocks started broadcasting the alternative music show every night, instead of its previous timeslot of Saturday nights. The show airs nightly at 1 a.m. and runs without commercials. A ''120 Metal Minutes'' show broadcast on Friday nights until it was cancelled in April 2006. **''

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consisted of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more obs ...

'' timeslot on Tuesday and Saturday evenings. **''

'' **'' Jackass'' **''

Viva La Bam ''Viva La Bam'' is an American reality television series that stars Bam Margera and his friends and family. The show is a spin-off from MTV's '' Jackass'', in which Margera and most of the main cast appeared. Each episode had a specific theme, ...

'' **''

Wonder Showzen ''Wonder Showzen'' is an American adult sketch comedy television series that aired between 2005 and 2006 on MTV2. It was created by Vernon Chatman and John Lee of PFFR. Described as a children's television series for adults, the show's format ...

'' **'' Dirty Sanchez'' * MTV Rocks * Gonzo: a weekly music magazine show with the best in alternative and indie music videos and interviews hosted by

Alexa Chung Alexa Chung (born 5 November 1983) is a British television presenter, model, internet personality, writer, and fashion designer. She wrote the book ''It'' (2013). Her fashion label Alexa Chung, stylized , launched in May 2017 and closed in 2022. ...

from 15 October 2010. The show was previously presented by New Zealander MTV VJ

. * Gonzo Loves...: a music video featuring non-stop alternative and indie music videos. * Gonzo on Tour: a yearly live music event which tours Ireland and the United Kingdom. * The Official UK Rock Chart: the official rock chart based on airplay and sales in the United Kingdom hosted by

Phil Clifton Phil Clifton is a British television and Sony nominated radio presenter, appearing on MTV (UK and Ireland), Radio X and formerly Channel 4. Career Radio Phil began presenting on Xfm London and Xfm Manchester in 2008. He was later nominated for ...

. * Newest Noise: the freshest music videos back-to-back. * The 10 Biggest Tracks Right Now: a selection of the top 10 newest and freshest music videos.

Past VJs

Special events

In recent years, MTV Two has taken ''Gonzo'' on different tours of the United Kingdom. ''Gonzo on Tour'' has been a regular tour for the past two years, touring various Barfly venues and filming the results for broadcast on the channel. Bands such as

The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster (often referred to as Eighties Matchbox, 80s Matchbox, TEMBD, TEMBLD or shortened to just Eighties or 80s) were an English rock band from Brighton, formed in 1999. They released three albums, ''Hörse of th ...

Goldie Lookin' Chain Goldie Lookin Chain are a Welsh comedy hip hop group from Newport, south-east Wales. The group produces humorous, controversial and often explicit songs that satirise hip hop, today's consumer society, the "chav" culture and life in Newpor ...

Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...

and

Maxïmo Park Maxïmo Park are an English alternative rock band, formed in 2000 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band consists of Paul Smith (vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitar), and Tom English (drums). The band have released seven studio albums: '' A Certain Trigge ...

have played in the past, and in 2005 the tour featured bands such as

The Rakes The Rakes were an English post-punk band formed in London in 2003. Their first album ''Capture/Release'' released in 2005, received a nine out of ten review in the ''NME'' and was rated 13th best album of the year in the same paper. The band ci ...

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, back ...

Editors Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

, and

The Subways The Subways is an English rock band from Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. Formed in 2002, the band consists of Billy Lunn (lead vocals, guitar), Charlotte Cooper (bass guitar, lead vocals), and Camille Phillips (drums). Founding-drummer Josh ...

headlining one venue each, with support from

Test Icicles Test Icicles were a short-lived rock band that formed in England, primarily influenced by post-hardcore, dance-punk and indie rock but containing musical elements from a variety of genres (notably dance, hip hop, crossover thrash, and punk). T ...

and

Be Your Own Pet Be Your Own Pet (also known as BYOP) is a four-piece punk/garage rock group from Nashville, Tennessee. Biography The band formed in 2004, while all members were in high school at Nashville School of the Arts. Playing house shows and gigs at ...

. In May 2006 the channel held a series of gigs at

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

's Great Escape festival, with

The Cribs The Cribs are a British indie rock band originally from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, that formed in 2001. The band consists of twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman. They were subsequently joined by ex-The Smiths guit ...

and

Mystery Jets Mystery Jets are an English indie rock band, formerly based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The band consists of Blaine Harrison (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Jack Flanagan (bass and vocals), Kapil Trivedi (drums) and Henry Harriso ...

headlining alongside bands such as

Metric Metric or metrical may refer to: * Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement * An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement Mathematics In mathema ...

The Sunshine Underground The Sunshine Underground (often shortened to TSU) were an English alternative dance band based in Leeds, England. Their style developed from indie, alternative to electronic music, and they released four full-length albums; '' Raise the Alarm ...

and

The Fratellis The Fratellis are a Scottish rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom ...

; the gigs were filmed and broadcast a few weeks later alongside interviews and backstage clips. Other live events MTV Two have staged include the ''Bandwagon Tour'' featuring

Viva Voce ''Viva voce'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "with living voice" but most often translated as "by word of mouth." It may refer to: *Word of mouth *A voice vote in a deliberative assembly *An oral exam **Thesis defence, in academia *Spoken evi ...

Clor Clor was a short-lived five-piece band from Brixton, England, formed by Barry Dobbin and Luke Smith in 2003 and which signed to the Parlophone record label after only six gigs. The band released a self-titled first album, in 2005 to critica ...

The Departure The Departure was an English rock band from Northampton, formed in October 2003. Their debut album, ''Dirty Words'', was released 13 June 2005 by Parlophone. A second album, ''Inventions'', was expected to be released in early 2008, but was not ...

and

The Kooks The Kooks () are an English pop-rock band formed in 2004 in Brighton. The band consists of Luke Pritchard (vocals/rhythm guitar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar/synthesizer/bass) and Alexis Nunez (drums). Their music is primarily influenced by the ...

, along with gigs at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

and coverage of the

Reading and Leeds festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

. In November 2006, MTV Two hosted its first ''Spanking New Music Tour'' where

Fields Fields may refer to: Music *Fields (band), an indie rock band formed in 2006 *Fields (progressive rock band), a progressive rock band formed in 1971 * ''Fields'' (album), an LP by Swedish-based indie rock band Junip (2010) * "Fields", a song by ...

, Forward Russia and The Maccabees supported headliners

Wolfmother Wolfmother is an Australian hard rock band from Sydney. Formed in 2004, the group is centred around vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, who is the only constant member of the line-up. The band has been through many personnel changes since ...

, with live footage from the

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...

gig broadcast in a Gonzo special.

Logos

File:MTV 2 Logo.svg, Logo used between 1 September 2000 and 22 July 2007 File:MTV Two.svg, Used between 22 July 2007 and 1 March 2010 File:MTV ROCKS logo.svg, Logo used from 1 March 2010 – 1 July 2011 File:MTV Rocks.svg, Logo used from 1 July 2011 – 1 October 2013 File:MTV Rocks 2013 logo.svg, Logo used from 1 October 2013 – 5 April 2017 File:MTV Rocks 2017 logo.svg, final Logo from used 5 April 2017 – 20 July 2020 File:VH1 Christmas Logo.png, VH1 Christmas logo. MTV Rocks' on-air identity has been produced by Dutch graphic design team

PostPanic PostPanic is a Dutch film company founded in 1997. PostPanic now includes company segments that produce commercial film, long format film and more. They also host and curate the bi-annual PanicRoom. In 2019, the firm rebranded as ThePanics. Histo ...

. MTV Rocks reflects MTV Networks Internationals on-air and off-air branding. The graphics were commissioned by MTV Networks Internationals design team MTV World Design Studio who have created the original MTV Popx1000 branding.

References

External links

MTV Rocks UK & Ireland - presentation, screenshots
{{DEFAULTSORT:MTV Rocks Defunct British television channels MTV channels Music video networks in the United Kingdom Television channels and stations established in 1998 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2020 1998 establishments in the United Kingdom 2020 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Television channel articles with incorrect naming style