VH1

VH1 (which originally stood for Video Hits 1) is an American cable television channel that was created in 1985 by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment (then a division of Warner Communications). With then four-year-old MTV's popularity rising drastically among teens, VH1 began with the intention to capitalize off of the success of the music video. However, VH1's aim was to focus on the lighter, softer side of popular music, including such musicians as Elton John, Sting, Diana Ross, Billy Joel, Kenny G, and Anita Baker, in hopes of appealing to people between the ages of 18 and 35, and possibly even older.

International Channels

VH1 Australia

Since March (April for OPTUS customers) 2004 VH1 has been available in Australia on Foxtel, Optus Television and Austar.

Related Topics:
Foxtel - Optus Television - Austar

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VH1 Brazil

Since 2004, VH1 Soul also became available for Brazilians with digital cable system. Currently, it's the only VH1 channel, but there are also plans to include the main VH1.

Related Topics:
2004 - Brazil - Digital cable

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VH1 Europe

VH1 Europe broadcasts from London to continental Europe. The line-up mainly consists of documentaries, including series like 'The Fabulous life of...' and 'The Rise and Rise Of...' Most strands of programming identical to VH-1 UK, but with different schedules and advertisements.

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VH-1 Classic Europe is also available to many viewers and is, at present, entirely devoid of advertisements, with round-the-clock music videos.

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VH1 India

In December 2004, MTV India and Zee-Turner teamed up to bring VH1 to India. In India, VH1 will be a commercial-free (or so they claim, watching the channel proves otherwise) 24-hour pay channel that will cater to the 16–44 age group.

Related Topics:
2004 - Zee-Turner

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VH1 Latin America

In 2004, VH1 Latin America joined MTV and Nickelodeon Latin America targeting 25–49-year-olds. The Spanish-language channel is tailored for the market and feature a mix of music and entertainment with local and international-recording artists, as well as original programming.

Related Topics:
Latin America - MTV - Nickelodeon

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VH1 Latin America was launched in the second quarter of 2004 with its initial distribution in Mexico via pay TV. The network is also to be made available throughout Latin America with additional distribution to be announced.

Related Topics:
Latin America - 2004 - Mexico

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VH1 UK

Targeting 25–44 year olds, VH1 UK is "mature, sophisticated and totally stylish for viewers who still feel young and want to keep in-touch with what is happening on the music scene today." The music they play consists of music from the 70's right through to today. Most of their proogramming is taken from VH1 USA, and the channel has many 'Top 20' and 'Top 40' countdowns. Some MTV programmes are shown on both VH1 and VH2, and some VH1 programmes are shown on MTV and TMF. VH1 UK also has two sister channels; 'VH1 Classic' (being one) plays all time greats from the '60s to the '90s. From late 2003 a new channel called 'VH2' (being the other) was launched showing mainly music videos and live concerts. It focuses on Rock, Indie and Punk music and brands itself as 'the alternative to manufactured pop'

Related Topics:
MTV - TMF - Rock - Indie - Punk

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VH1 Export is a version of VH1 UK available in the Middle East, Africa, and Thailand.

Related Topics:
Middle East - Africa - Thailand

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One popular feature shown occasionally on VH1 UK is the Number 1s marathon where all Number 1 singles from a set point (originally 1980, but more recently has been starting at 1985) are been played in chronological order. This feature has also aired on TMF, starting from 1998. It's also notable though that the most recent of these marathons on both VH1 & TMF has omitted the Crazy Frog single. The song, though selling many copies, is hated by many and the music video has recieved very little airplay across all music channels. While this is possibly the reason why this video is not shown, other similarly hated chart-topping novelty singles are included.

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See also: List of Number 1 singles (UK)

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