 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Network | MTV (2016–present) VH1 (1998–2016) |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York, United States |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Paramount Skydance Corporation |
| Parent | MTV Entertainment Group |
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched | August 1, 1998; 27 years ago (1998-08-01) |
| Former names |
|
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Service(s) | DirecTV Stream,FuboTV,Hulu + Live TV,Philo,YouTube TV |
| This article is part of a series on |
| MTV |
|---|
 Current MTV Logo. |
| Programs on MTV |
| MTV personalities |
| Censorship on MTV |
| MTV Generation |
| MTV News |
| History of MTV |
| MTV Video Music Awards |
| MTV slogans |
MTV Classic (formerlyVH1 Smooth,VH1 Classic Rock, andVH1 Classic) is an Americanpay-TVnetwork owned byParamount Media Networks (now part of Paramount Skydance). It was originally launched in 1998 as "VH1 Smooth", anadult contemporary andsmooth jazz channel. It was relaunched as "VH1 Classic Rock" in 1999 (later renamed "VH1 Classic" until 2016), with an emphasis onclassic rock. On August 1, 2016, in honor ofMTV's 35th anniversary, the channel was rebranded as "MTV Classic", and now exclusively airsmusic videos from all genres from the 1980s to the early/mid-2010s.
As of December 2019[update], MTV Classic is available to approximately 39,000,000 pay television households in the United States.[1]
VH1 Smooth launched on August 1, 1998 as a part of the "Suite" digital package, delaying the initial launch date of July 31, 1998.[2][3] The channel that focused onsmooth jazz,new age, andadult contemporary music.[2][4] The first music video to play on the channel was acover of "Makin' Whoopee" byBranford Marsalis.[5]
Relaunched on August 1, 1999 asVH1 Classic Rock, the channel primarily featured amainstream 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 diverse genres and time periods.[6] The channel name was quickly changed toVH1 Classic in 2000.
The network played only music videos upon launch, but quickly expanded to a varied lineup of music-themed programs. This included themed music video compilation blocks (with categories such asheavy metal music, or popular music of the 1980s), full-length concerts, music documentaries such as theClassic Albums andBehind the Music series, music-oriented films (such as Prince'sPurple Rain andThe Blues Brothers), and an original talk show,That Metal Show.[7] It also re-broadcast programs first aired on the main VH1, includingPop-Up Video andI Love the '80s.
From January 28 until February 15, 2015, VH1 Classic aired a 19-day marathon of NBC'sSaturday Night Live in celebration of the series' 40th anniversary.[8][9] As a result, the network broke a previous record for the longest continuous marathon in television history set byFXX's twelve-day marathon ofThe Simpsons.[10]
In July 2016, Viacom announced that on August 1, the 35th anniversary of the originalMTV's launch, the network would rebrand asMTV Classic. The channel's programming continues to focus on vintage music videos and programming (including notable episodes ofMTV Unplugged andStorytellers), but skews more towards from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. The rebranded network schedule also included reruns of past MTV original series such as the secondBeavis and Butt-Head reboot, the originalClone High series andLaguna Beach: The Real Orange County.[11] The network's relaunch took place at 6:00 a.m. ET with a rebroadcast of MTV'sfirst hour on the air, which was also simulcast on MTV and online viaFacebook 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).[12][13] Several VH1 Classic programs were retained in the existing schedule, albeit in late night hours.
Three days leading up to December 30, 2016, MTV Classic aired 24-hour block "Decade-a-thons" consisting of music videos from the 1980s leading up to the 2000s.[14] Afterwards, MTV Classic unveiled a new automated all-music video schedule, with all of the older MTV and VH1 Classic series content removed.[11] Since then, the only deviation from the automation has been "roadblock" simulcasts of the annualMTV Video Music Awards andMTV Movie & TV Awards to remove any competition from other Paramount Skydance networks, as well occasional marathons of older MTV shows to promote new series or season launches (as was done withThe Hills (2006) to promoteThe Hills: New Beginnings),
As of the end of the year 2016, the channel was one of the least-watched English-language channels on most American 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 discarding their new format after five months.[15][16] 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 moribundEsquire Network andbeIN Sports, which at that time of the year is in its non-prime sports season.[17] 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.[18] If not for the addition of the sevenEntertainment Studios Networks to Nielsen monitoring at the end of 2017, alongside 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.[19] Since then, it has frequently 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.[20][21]
Occasionally, the channel interrupts regular music video programming to air specific music videos in tribute to recently deceased musicians such as Ozzy Osbourne. FollowingTony Bennett's death on July 21, 2023, MTV Classic exclusively aired Bennett's music videos and live performances for the subsequent weekend, regardless of whatever block was scheduled. Some musicians or performers, such asSteve Harwell of the rock bandSmash Mouth, have their music videos broadcast periodically throughout the day of their death, mixed into regular programming.