MTV2

MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to basic cable lineups across the nation. It is also broadcast over-the-air in some markets where the former all-request music channel known as The Box was broadcast. A European counterpart broadcasts from London in the United Kingdom, as does a Canadian version on digital cable and satellite, with a German version being closed down in September 2005. MTV2 began broadcasting on August 1, 1996—MTV's fifteenth anniversary—with the first video Beck's Where It's At. The purpose of the channel was to give music fans a place to see constant, commercial-free music videos, once the original MTV had started concentrating on reality television and soap operas.

The first re-launch (2001)

In late 2000, Viacom, MTV and MTV2's parent company, bought out the independent, viewer-requested "jukebox" music video channel known as The Box. Starting on January 1, 2001, all households that had received The Box began to receive MTV2 in its place, putting the channel into millions of additional households.

Related Topics:
Viacom - January 1 - 2001

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As part of the January 1, 2001 re-launch of the channel, MTV2 started to show commercials and began to separate the types of videos it played by genre. Hip hop and soul music (hosted by a new VJ, Steph Lova) was played for an hour every weekday at 10 AM and 10 PM. Rock music played every weekday at 9 AM and 9 PM (hosted by another new VJ and former K-ROQ radio DJ, Chris Booker). A new show hosted by Jancee Dunn called "MTV2 Request" aired every weekday between 11 AM and 12 PM, and again between 11 PM and midnight. All the videos played on "MTV2 Request" were selected by online viewer requests. Another new show called Control Freak began in 2001, airing weekdays from 8 to 9 PM. It used real-time viewer voting to select the next video to be played on the channel (out of three choices), while the current video was playing. The majority of the daytime schedule still featured a somewhat diverse mix of rap, rock, and pop, and new and old videos.

Related Topics:
Hip hop - Soul music - Steph Lova

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