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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 Communications and the original owner of MTV, and launched on January 1, 1985, in the former space of Turner Broadcasting System's short-lived Cable Music Channel.

The channel was originally conceived to build upon the success of sister channel MTV by playing music videos targeting a slightly older demographic than MTV by focusing on the lighter, softer side of popular music. Like MTV, VH1 ultimately drifted away from music videos and into reality television programming, albeit with a focus on music personalities and celebrities, and shows targeting African American audiences. VH1 is best known for franchises such as ''Behind the Music'', the '' I Love…'' series, the '' Celebreality'' block, ''Love & Hip Hop'', and ''RuPaul's Drag Race.''

As of January 2016, approximately 90.2 million US households received VH1.

History

Early history (1985–1994)

Format and VJs (1985–89)

VH1's aim was to focus on the lighter, softer side of popular music, including US and international musicians such as Olivia Newton-John, Kenny Rogers, Carly Simon, Tina Turner, Elton John, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, Sting, Donna Summer, Rod Stewart, Kenny G, Michael Bolton, Anita Baker, Chicago and Fleetwood Mac, in hopes of appealing to people aged 18 to 35, and possibly older. Also frequently featured in the network's early years were "videos" for Motown and other '60s oldies consisting of newsreel and concert footage. It was introduced on January 1, 1985, with the video performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Marvin Gaye, who died a year before the network launched (the national anthem was also played at the launch of Cable Music Channel).

From the start, Video Hits One was branded as an urban version of its sister/parent channel. It played more jazz and R&B artists than MTV and had a higher rotation of urban-contemporary performers. Its early on-camera personalities were New York radio veterans Don Imus (then of WNBC), Frankie Crocker (then program director and DJ for WBLS), Scott Shannon (of WHTZ), Jon Bauman ("Bowzer" from Sha Na Na), and Rita Coolidge.

Later VJs included Bobby Rivers, who joined in 1987, Tim Byrd of WPIX-FM (the current day FM rebroadcast of WFAN), a station whose eclectic ballad-and-R&B oriented format mirrored that of VH-1, Roger Rose - Actor and comedian (Ski Patrol), and Alison Steele ("The Nightbird" of WNEW-FM). Rosie O'Donnell later joined the outlet's VJ lineup. O'Donnell would also host a comedy show featuring various comedians each episode. As an added touch to make the network more like a televised radio station, the early years of the network featured jingles in their bumpers produced by JAM Creative Productions in Dallas, who had previously made jingles for radio stations worldwide.

The format left room for occasional ad-libs by the VJ, a godsend for emcees such as Imus and O'Donnell. In true Imus style, he used a 1985 segment of his VH-1 show to jokingly call smooth-jazz icon Sade a "grape" for her oval-shaped head.

Typical of VH1's very early programming was ''New Visions'', a series which featured videos and in-studio performances by smooth jazz and classical and new-age bands and performers, including Spyro Gyra, Andy Narell, Mark Isham, Philip Glass, and Yanni. At first many different musicians guest-hosted the program, but eventually musician/songwriter Ben Sidran became the permanent host.

New Age music videos continued to play on the channel into the 1990s. They would be seen on the Sunday morning two-hour music video block titled ''Sunday Brunch''.

Early programming (1989–1994)

Once VH1 established itself a few years later, they catered to Top 40, adult contemporary, classic rock, and 1980s mainstream pop. For a time, even country music videos aired in a one-hour block during the afternoons. They started out using MTV's famous Kabel based credits for their music video credit tags. It was later replaced in 1991 by a larger, vertically oriented font, with the year the video was made added to the lower column that identified the label on which the album was released. In 1993, the name of the videos' director was included at the bottom of the credits.

During this time, they also had some non-music programming, such as a comedy hour hosted by Rosie O'Donnell with various amateur and veteran comedians, called ''Stand Up Spotlight'', an in-depth look at current movies called ''Flix'', and reports on good civilians and volunteers in the community, called ''Good News People''.

Every week, the Top 21 Video Countdown usually had a different guest host. Occasionally, they had themed countdowns as well, such as Elvira hosting creepy videos for Halloween in 1991.

Long blocks of music videos by a particular artist or band, theme, or years were also very popular in this era. One popular weekend program was called ''Video Rewind'', in which blocks of 1980s videos from one particular year would play for an hour. There was also a short-lived hour-long program called ''By Request'' in which viewers could call a 1–900 hotline number to request their videos.

Another program was "History of Music Videos A to Z", which would include mini-marathons of videos mostly centered around artists based on a given alphabetical letter. During Independence Day weekends all the way to 1998, a large percentage of their library of music videos would be shown. A weeknight 11p.m. hour-long broadcast of Madonna videos, titled ''The Madonna Show'', aired around that era. The videos were aired without introduction by a VJ and the program was soon shortened to thirty minutes, and then scrapped altogether.

Also in 1991, a popular morning program was introduced called ''Hits News & Weather'' that ran from 7am to 9am ET. (It later expanded to 10am ET.) It was composed of music videos both past and present along with a 90-second update of the day's news & weather provided by All News Channel. The updates were typically shown twice an hour during the program. A box displaying the minutes past the hour was shown below the logo during the period. It was discontinued a week before the channel was re-branded in the Fall of 1994. During the week prior, classic music videos from forgotten artists/bands aired, titled ''Whatever Happened To...?''

The channel's playlist was gradually expanding, and, by 1994, included contemporary musicians such as Ace of Base, Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, Lisa Loeb, Amy Grant, Seal, and other slightly heavier, or more alternative rock-influenced music than what it had originally played, although favorites such as Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Rod Stewart, Cher, Elton John, Madonna, Phil Collins, Janet Jackson, and Céline Dion still continued to receive heavy play for several more years as well. VH1 to One was a program in the Video Hits One era that was very similar to Behind The Music. It profiled artists such as Phil Collins, Michael Bolton and Paul McCartney, plus other various artists of interest at the time that were playing the network's chosen style of music at the time and their music careers. It was one of the programs that would continue into the incoming Music First era.

VH1 Corvette Give-away Sweepstakes

In order to reach a wider and younger audience, VH1 announced in late 1989 that in 1990 they would be holding a contest where the grand prize was a collection of 36 Chevrolet Corvettes, one for every model year from its introduction year of 1953, to the then current model year of 1989 (there is no model for 1983), all going to a single grand winner. All cars were to be certified as roadworthy and in "good" to "excellent" condition. The collection at the time had an estimated worth of over 1 million. Contestants entered by calling a 1-900 number and registering, at $2 per call. VH1 received over 4 million call-in entries. The winner was a man from Long Island, New York, who immediately sold the entire collection to artist Peter Max for $500,000. Max intended to use the cars for an art project, but it never got started and the entire collection was left in an underground parking lot in New York City for over 20 years, and deteriorated into poor condition.

''VH1: Music First'' (1994–2003)

On October 17, 1994, VH1 re-branded itself as ''VH1: Music First'', following a slight ratings decline in the early 1990s. By 1996, VH1 was heading down the same path as its sister channel, MTV, choosing to focus more on music-related shows than on music videos. Additionally, the network began to expand its playlist of music videos to include more rock music. Old episodes of '' American Bandstand'' could regularly be seen on the channel. By that time, the channel's ratings were beginning to fall.

''Video Countdown''

As part of VH-1's re-branding as "VH1: Music First" in 1994, the channel launched a new series, the ''VH1 Top 10 Countdown'', replacing the old Top 21 Countdown, that counted down the top 10 music videos played on VH1 each week. A combination of record sales, radio airplay, video spins, message board posts, and conventional mail would decide the order of the countdown. A rotating cast of VJs picked up hosting duties for the show over the years. The series expanded from 10 to 20 music videos, becoming the ''VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown'', in 2001. The show was renamed ''The 20'' in early 2015, and ended later that year.

''Pop-Up Video''

In the fall of 1996, VH1 premiered ''Pop-Up Video'', in which music videos were accompanied by "pop-ups" (also known as "bubbles" or "info nuggets")—small enclosed areas of the screen containing facts about the band artists, and videos such as career highlights, discography, biographical details, quotes, and anecdotes. For a time, this was VH1's highest rated show.

''VH1 Storytellers''

In February 1996, VH1 again hit it big with the premiere of the first of the network's flagship shows, ''VH1 Storytellers''. The show started with a broadcast of Ray Davies, during his "Storyteller" tour, and took its name from this first show. In each hourlong episode, artists appear in front of a (mostly small and intimate) live audience, interspersing musical performances with anecdotes related to the songs' meaning, the songwriting process, audience reaction, etc. Along with Davies, the series has featured a widely diverse list of artists, including Culture Club, Stone Temple Pilots, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kanye West, Tom Waits, and Def Leppard. Meat Loaf enjoyed the show's format so much that he bought the stage decorations from VH-1 and went on to do a "Storytellers" tour in 1998/1999.

''Behind the Music''

VH1 scored another hit in August 1997 with the debut of ''Behind the Music''. The hourlong show features interviews and biographies of some of popular music's biggest stars qualified to be profiled on the series. The premiere episode featured Milli Vanilli. Episodes have ranged from Aaliyah to Stryper to Keith Moon, as well as others such as, Meat Loaf, Tori Amos, MC Hammer, Cher, Oasis, Steppenwolf, Fleetwood Mac, TLC, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Megadeth, Britney Spears, Selena, Petra, Pantera, and Eminem, with more episodes being produced periodically. By the late 1990s, the show began to run out of artists to profile, leading to the short-lived ''BTM2'' program, half-hour looks into bands and artists whose popularity was rising, but not yet at its peak.

''Legends''

Shortly after, VH1 created a companion series, ''Legends'' (originally sponsored by AT&T), profiling artists who have made a more significant contribution to music history to qualify as "Legends" (that is, those artists who have gone beyond the category of ''Behind the Music'' biographies). The artists profiled so far have included Aerosmith; the Bee Gees; David Bowie; Johnny Cash; Eric Clapton; The Clash; George Clinton; Sam Cooke; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; The Doors; John Fogerty; Aretha Franklin; Marvin Gaye; The Grateful Dead; Guns N' Roses; Jimi Hendrix; Michael Jackson; Eminem; Elton John; Janis Joplin; B. B. King; Led Zeppelin; John Lennon; Curtis Mayfield; Nirvana; Pink Floyd; The Pretenders; Red Hot Chili Peppers; Queen; Bruce Springsteen; Tina Turner; U2; Stevie Ray Vaughan; The Who, and Neil Young.

Save The Music Foundation

Founded in 1997 by John Sykes as VH1 Save The Music and funded by the first Divas concerts, the Save The Music Foundation became a standalone 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2008. The mission of the organization is to help students, schools, and communities reach their full potential through the power of making music. Save The Music partners with school districts and raises funds to restore music programs in public schools. Since inception, STM has donated over $60 million worth of new musical instruments, equipment, and technology to 2,201 schools in 277 school districts around the country, reaching hundreds of thousands of students.

''VH1 Divas''

In 1998, VH1 debuted the first annual '' VH1 Divas'' concert and featured the "divas" Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Shania Twain, Gloria Estefan, and Celine Dion, and the "special guest" Carole King. The second installment of these "diva" shows was produced in 1999 featuring Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, Cher, LeAnn Rimes, Mary J. Blige, Billy Joel, Chaka Khan, Brandy, and special "divo" Elton John. It became a huge success and was featured in the following years starring Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Destiny's Child, Kelly Clarkson, Jordin Sparks, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Hudson, Shakira, Deborah Harry, Anastacia, Dixie Chicks, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, and Jessica Simpson. Also in 1999, Donna Summer who was asked to do the "diva" concert, was given her own concert special by VH1 "Donna Summer Live and More: Encore". Some female artists such as Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, Celine Dion, Cher, Chaka Khan, and Billy Joel were featured in two or more VH1 divas concerts, with Cyndi Lauper appearing the most times, having been featured in four concerts. In 2000, Diana Ross, who has been asked several times to appear on previous editions, appeared in her own edition of the special, "VH1 Divas 2000: A Tribute To Diana Ross"

''Movies That Rock''

In 1999, VH1 aired its first original movie, a biopic on Sweetwater. Their third original movie (which aired in 2000), '' Two of Us'', focused on a fictional meeting between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Over the next three years, they made over a dozen movies, including bio-pics on Jim Morrison and The Doors, Ricky Nelson, MC Hammer, The Monkees, Meat Loaf, and Def Leppard.

VH1 continues to air "Movies That Rock" on a regular basis, expanding to include movies not produced by VH1. The subject matter remains mostly focused on music and musicians.

Diversification

In the late 1990s, VH1 continued to get more diverse and teen-based with its music selection, and with that, the network updated its 1994 "Big 1" logo. Various late-night rock shows have been shown on VH1, featuring alternative rock and metal videos from the 1980s and 1990s. VH1 eventually warmed up to harder rock acts such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Foo Fighters, the Stone Temple Pilots, and Metallica. Their new videos began being added into VH1's playlist right away.

Around late 2002, VH1 even began to play mainstream rap musicians. The latest videos by Eminem, Nelly, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, and Eve began to be shown in VH1's rotation and even started to cut up on VH1's top 20 countdown. VH1 also plays music from Latin artists such as Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias, Thalía, and Shakira.

Other past trends

''rockDocs'' was the title under which VH1 aired various music documentaries, both those produced by VH1 and those produced by third parties. Such documentary series produced by VH1 include "''And Ya' Don't Stop''", a five-part series on the history of hip-hop and rap, a four-part series on the history of heavy metal, '' Heavy: The Story of Metal'', and '' The Drug Years'', which tells the story of different drug cultures that changed America. Films produced by other studios have also been aired as ''rockDocs'', including ''Woodstock'', '' Madonna: Truth or Dare'', '' Tupac: Resurrection'', '' Metal: A Headbanger's Journey'', '' Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That!'', a documentary on the Beastie Boys, and most recently '' Last Days of Left Eye'' which documented the last month of Lisa Lopes's life from the band TLC, and ''N.W.A.: The World's Most Dangerous Group,'' featuring the narration of comedian Chris Rock, which chronicled the rise and fall of N.W.A.

VH1 endured criticism for ''Music Behind Bars'', which mainly focuses on musicians in custody. Critics have claimed prisoners, mainly those convicted of murder, should not be entitled to any exposure, especially nationally.

The channel aired '' Where Are They Now?'' from 1999 to 2002. It featured former celebrities and their current professional and personal status. Each episode was dedicated to a specific genre, ranging from past child stars to Aaron Spelling's notable productions, to controversial news figures.

VH1 also aired a series of promos in 2003, featuring animated kittens from the online animation website Rathergood, lipsyncing popular songs such as " I Love Rock n' Roll" written & performed by Alan Merrill of the Arrows since 1975 (US cover hit by Joan Jett in 1982), Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon" and Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle". These spots were done by British animator Joel Veitch.

Box logo era (2003–2013)

In August 2003, the network changed its focus again, dropping "Music First" from its name, and introducing a box logo. Having saturated its ''Behind The Music'' series (and spinoff ''BTM2'', a 30-minute version that told the stories of current chart-toppers), gotten past the point of showing music videos on a regular basis, the network began to target the pop culture nostalgia market. Following the controversy over the murder-suicide of a contestant from ''Megan Wants a Millionaire'', the channel toned down its reality programming. On July 1, 2007, VH1 and MHD simulcast the entire ''Concert for Diana'' live from London, England, on the birthday of Princess Diana, Princess of Wales.

VH1 would continue to air its music video blocks despite its decreasing reliance on such programming. Their main program block was seen from 3a.m. to 11a.m. ET. The overnight block was called ''Insomniac Music Theater'', later renamed ''Nocturnal State'' in August 2005. At of the beginning of October 2008, ''Nocturnal State'' was cut down to one hour, and ''Fresh: New Music'' was supplanted by additional hours of ''Jump Start''. In 2010, VH1 retired ''Nocturnal State''. Music Videos continued to be branded under ''Jump Start'' until January 5, 2013.

''I Love…'' series (2002–2014)

In 2002, VH1 broadcast a ten-part series entitled '' I Love the '80s''. The series was adapted from a BBC
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