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Background
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MTV (short for Music Television), the first ever cable music channel, was
launched on August 1, 1981, by Warner Amex Satellite Entertainment Company, a
joint venture between Warner Communications and American Express. Its launch was
said to have marked the beginning of the cable TV revolution. In 1984, the
company was renamed MTV Networks (MTVN).
From the time of its launch, MTV's target audience had typically been people in
the 12 to 24 age group. However, to cater to the other age groups, MTVN launched
several new channels over the years. As MTV aired a lot of heavy-metal and rap music, another
channel VH1 (short for video hits one) was formed in 1985 to play light popular
music, Rhythm and Blues (R&B), jazz, country music, and classics aimed at the 18
to 35 age group.
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From the beginning, MTV encouraged emerging musical talent.
Little known musicians became popular after their songs were aired on MTV.
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Over the years, MTV was credited with the success of many
musicians and groups, like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Van Halen, The
Police, Def Leppard, and Nirvana. Many artistes also created music
videos especially for MTV. The channel also offered exclusive on-air
time to popular artistes by staging 'acoustic concerts' in its show 'MTV
Unplugged'.
In 1986, MTVN was acquired by Viacom Inc. (Viacom). (Refer to Exhibit I
for a note on Viacom Inc.). MTVN embarked on its international expansion
by launching its first overseas channel in Europe in 1987. Soon after,
it established MTVI, to manage all its overseas channels, which included
MTV, VH1, and Nickelodeon. |
In the 1990s, MTVN launched other new channels like VH1
Classic, MTV 2, MTV U, MTV Hits, etc. to cater to specific demographics (Some of
these channels were also launched worldwide by MTVI). Despite its audience
comprising various age groups,9 MTVN
primarily targeted the 12-24 age group as MTV had been considered a youth brand
right from the beginning.
While the other MTVN-owned channels played different types of music, the core
channel, MTV, began playing less music and started airing programs, some of
which were based on unusual concepts...
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