MTV Classic (formerly VH1 Smooth, VH1 Classic Rock, and VH1 Classic) is an American
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 ...
network
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics
...
owned by
Paramount Media 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 ...
. It was originally launched in 1998 as VH1 Smooth, an
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
and
smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s.
History
Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...
channel. It was relaunched as VH1 Classic Rock in 1999 (later renamed VH1 Classic), with an emphasis on
classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
. On August 1, 2016, in honor of
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 ...
's 35th anniversary, the channel was rebranded as MTV Classic, and now exclusively shows
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
s from all genres from the 1980s to the 2010s.
History
1998–1999: VH1 Smooth
VH1 Smooth launched on August 1, 1998 as a part of the "Suite" digital package, delaying the original launch date of July 31, 1998.
The channel focused on
smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s.
History
Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...
,
new age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...
, and
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
music.
The first music video to play on the channel was a
cover
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
of "
Makin' Whoopee
"Makin' Whoopee" is a jazz/blues song, first popularized by Eddie Cantor in the 1928 musical ''Whoopee!''. Gus Kahn wrote the lyrics and Walter Donaldson composed the music for the song as well as for the entire musical.
The title refers to celeb ...
" by
Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed inst ...
.
1999–2016: VH1 Classic
![LOGO VH1 CLASSIC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/LOGO_VH1_CLASSIC.svg)
Relaunched on August 1, 1999 as VH1 Classic Rock, the channel primarily featured a
mainstream rock
Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.
Format background
Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...
/
adult hits-formatted mix of music videos and concert footage from the 1960s to the 1980s, though it originally included a wider range of genres and time periods. The channel name was quickly changed to VH1 Classic in 2000.
The network played only music videos upon launch, but quickly expanded to a varied line-up of music-themed programs. This included themed music video compilation blocks (with categories such as
Heavy Metal music, or popular music of the 1980s), full-length concerts, music documentaries such as the ''
Classic Albums
''Classic Albums'' is a British documentary series about pop, rock and heavy metal albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well-known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music.
Format
The TV seri ...
'' and ''
Behind the Music
''Behind the Music'' is a documentary television series on VH1. Each episode profiles and interviews a popular musical artist or group. The program examines the beginning of their career, their road to success, and the hardships they may have ...
'' series, music-oriented films (such as ''
Purple Rain'' and ''
The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respective ...
''), and an original talk show, ''
That Metal Show
''That Metal Show'' is a talk show that premiered on VH1 Classic on November 15, 2008 and ended on May 9, 2015 with a span of 14 seasons. Hosted by Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine, the series features three hosts interviewing musi ...
''. They also re-broadcast programs first shown on the main VH1 channel, including ''
Pop-Up Video
''Pop Up Video'' is a VH1 television show that shows music videos annotated via "pop-up" bubbles — officially called "info nuggets" — containing trivia and witticisms relating to the video in question. The show was created by Woody T ...
'' and ''
I Love the '80s''.
In January 28 until February 15, 2015, VH1 Classic aired a 24-hour, 19-day marathon of ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' in celebration of the show's 40th anniversary.
As a result, the network broke a previous record for the longest continuous marathon in television history set by
FXX
FXX is an American basic cable channel owned by the Walt Disney Television unit of The Walt Disney Company through FX Networks, LLC. It is the partner channel of FX, with its programming focusing on original and acquired comedy series and fea ...
's twelve-day marathon of ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
''.
2016–present: MTV Classic
In July 2016, Viacom announced that on August 1, the 35th anniversary of the original
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 ...
's launch, the network would rebrand as MTV Classic. The channel's programming continues to focus on classic music videos and programming (including notable episodes of ''
MTV Unplugged
''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...
'' and ''
Storytellers
Storyteller, story teller, or story-teller may refer to:
* A person who does storytelling
Arts and entertainment Film
*''Oidhche Sheanchais'', also called ''The Storyteller''; 1935 Irish short film
* ''Narradores de Javé'' (''Storytellers''), ...
''), but skews more towards from the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s to the early 2010s. The rebranded network schedule also included reruns of past MTV original series such as the 2011 ''
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, ...
'' revival and ''
Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County''.
[ The network's relaunch took place at 6:00 a.m. ET with a rebroadcast of MTV's first hour on the air, which was also simulcast on MTV and online via ]Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
live streaming, branded as "MTV Hour One" (the channel, as VH1 Classic, had recently aired it to mark the network's 30th anniversary in 2011). Several VH1 Classic programs were retained in the existing schedule, albeit in late night hours.
Three days leading up to January 1, 2017, MTV Classic aired 24-hour block "Decade-a-thons" consisting of music videos from the 1980s leading up to the 2000s. Afterwards, MTV Classic unveiled a new automated all-music video schedule, with all of the older MTV and VH1 Classic series content removed. Since then, the only deviation from the automation has been "roadblock" simulcasts of the annual ''MTV Video Music Award
The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...
s'' and ''MTV Movie & TV Awards
The MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards for its 26th editio ...
'' to remove any competition from other Paramount networks, as well occasional marathons of older MTV shows to promote new series or season launches (as was done with '' The Hills'' to promote '' The Hills: New Beginnings'').
As of the end of the year 2016, the channel was the least-watched English-language channel on all of U.S. subscription providers, averaging only 30–35,000 viewers on an average night in primetime (a decline of nearly a third from the already-low numbers VH1 Classic had netted in 2015), which was likely a factor in the network quickly abandoning their new format after five months. As of the end of May 2017, its numbers have slipped even further to an average of 14,000 viewers per night, only ahead of the moribund Esquire Network
Esquire Network was an American pay television network that was a 50/50 joint venture between NBCUniversal and the Hearst Corporation. The network carried programs aimed at a metrosexual audience centering on travel, cooking, sports and fashion ...
and beIN Sports
beIN Sports ( ) is a global network of sports channels owned and operated by the Qatari media group beIN. It has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its CEO is Yousef O ...
, which at that time of the year is in its non-prime sports season. Even those low numbers were halved by the end of July 2017, as that month's ratings showed it averaging 7,000 viewers per night, ahead of only the beIN networks. If not for the addition of the seven Entertainment Studios Networks
Entertainment Studios Networks is a group of seven high-definition cable networks operated by Entertainment Studios Inc., a company owned by and featuring comedian Byron Allen.
The seven networks include Cars.TV, Comedy.TV, ES.TV, Justice Centr ...
to Nielsen monitoring at the end of 2017, along with a decline in beIN Sports's ratings, it would have been the lowest rated English-language network in 2017 with a 14,000 viewer/night average. Since then, it has steadily remained the fourth-to-last ranked network, behind beIN Sports and ESN's Comedy.TV and its five-network cumulative "ESN Lifestyles" entry for the remainder of its networks.
As of 2021, MTV Classic typically shows three or four music videos in a row, all from different decades during "Rock Block", "House of Pop" and "MTV Classic Videos", with a total of either 10 or 11 videos per hour. Sometimes, the channel will deviate from its normal schedule by showing a five minute or longer music video or playing more than three videos in a row if the timing is running short of the hour. Generally speaking, many of the same videos are played, most likely due to cost or other licensing terms, despite the large library MTV has. Typically, the first of the three videos shown is a commonly rotated video, typically being the hit song from a particular album, band etc. The second video is in less commonly rotated and may be from a one-hit wonder group or artist, or another less popular song from an album. Lastly, the third video typically shows another commonly rotated or popular song, and the cycle repeats following a commercial break. Due to timing constraints, the third, first, or second video may be skipped entirely. Alternatively, a fourth video may be added if timing becomes out of sync, although, this is a rare occurrence.
As of July 28, 2021, MTV Classic Videos will be playing shorter music videos were shown ranging from 2 to 3 minutes per video.
The entire broadcast of MTV is automated by a computer. Typically, rare videos are most commonly shown during the nighttime block “MTV Classic Videos”. Occasionally, about once a week, and for one hour only, MTV Classic will air rare seldom seen videos during a daytime block such as “I Want My 80s”, "90's Nation", “House of Pop”, "Rock Block", "Yo! Hip Hop Mix", "Total Request Playlist" etc. These videos may go months of even years before being aired again on the channel, similar to a radio station.
During Summer 2021, MTV Classic slightly increased their video variety, including the addition of several live performances from various artists and bands ranging from the late 1970s to early 2000s. Some newer music videos from the 2010s have also aired. Additionally, several "Beat Club" performances were shown in all blocks. Finally, some longer music videos were shown ranging from 6 to 12 minutes per video.
In June until August 2021, MTV added their “My Life on MTV” series to their channel guide, reducing the overall amount of videos shown throughout the channel on weekdays. In June 2021, MTV brought back “Artist Spotlight Series” featuring songs from the bands Rush and Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerfor ...
. However, "Artist Spotlight Series" has since been discontinued. Despite being discontinued nearly all of the band's video library shown in Artist Spotlight Series are frequently aired during "90's Nation", "Rock Block" and other blocks.
In August until September 2021, MTV brought the “Behind the Music Playlist” featuring songs from Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis and the News are an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singles across the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Adult Contempora ...
, Busta Rhymes
Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...
, Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
, New Kids on the Block
New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoy ...
, Bret Michaels
Bret Michael Sychak (born March 15, 1963), known professionally as Bret Michaels, is an American singer and musician. He gained fame as the frontman of rock band Poison who has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and 15 million records in the U ...
and Fat Joe
Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...
.
When a famous artist has recently died, MTV Classic will typically rotate in the artist or band's video library as a tribute. MTV recently aired a tribute to bands such as Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
, ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...
, Biz Markie
Marcel Theo Hall (April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021), known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer. Markie was best known for his 1989 single "Just a Friend", which became a Top 40 hit in ...
, Charlie Watts
Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021.
Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an i ...
, Taylor Hawkins
Oliver Taylor Hawkins (February 17, 1972 – March 25, 2022) was an American musician, best known as the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters, with whom he recorded eight studio albums between 1999 and 2021. Before joining the band in 1997, he ...
and DMX, all of whom died during Summer 2021.
Music videos that air on MTV Classic are typically similar to the ones provided by the online/Pluto TV channel Vevo
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...
(with decade-oriented channels: "80s", "90s" and "2K"), but some differ slightly. Music videos that air from the 1980s typically have tape hiss artifacts, concept audio, or other slight differences. They may also be of higher visual quality than what is available online. A few videos from the 1980s to 1990s retain MTV's original Kabel typeface. MTV Classic has a large library of music videos, often times airing special music videos from motion picture soundtracks that are difficult to find online.
Programming
References
External links
*
{{Paramount Global
MTV channels
Music video networks in the United States
English-language television stations in the United States
Television channels and stations established in 1998
Companies based in New York City
Classic television networks
Nostalgia television in the United States