 | |
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Groupe M6 |
| Sister channels | RFM TV MCM Top |
| History | |
| Launched | 1 July 1989; 35 years ago (1989-07-01) |
| Links | |
| Website | Official website |
MCM (originally an acronym forMonte-Carlo Musique, laterMa Chaîne Musicale[1]) is a French music video and entertainmentTV channel owned byGroupe M6. It was started in 1989 by Europe 1 Communication following theMTV model, as a programming block of the Monegasque TV stationTMC.
From 2001–2003, MCM also broadcast inThailand, operated by local licensee Broadcast Network Thailand (aka: UBC), playing a mix of alternative and electronica music, and hosted by a variety of bilingual VJs speaking Thai and English, includingSara Malakul, Kipsan Beck and Fah Chanika Sucharitkul.
In the 1980s, the French audiovisual landscape changed, with the arrival of channels such asCanal+ in 1984 andLa Cinq andTV6 in 1986, followed by the privatization ofTF1 in 1987. The two private channelsTélé Monte-Carlo (TMC) in the south-east andRTL Télévision in the north-east were no longer alone in the face of the French public service monopoly, and had to share the advertising cake with the newcomers.
By 1987, TMC was in trouble, with programs and investors in short supply since the failed sale of TMC andRMC by Sofirad in 1987. The new M6 channel, whose transmitters in the south of France are not yet fully deployed, is interested in TMC's transmitter network to increase its broadcast coverage in this area.M6 wanted to make TMC a station affiliated to its national network, able to offer a local program to complement the national broadcast.
Thirteen months later, on 1 July 1989, withM6 having been able to deploy its own transmitters in the south of France, the broadcast partnership with TMC came to an end.
On 1 July 1989, Télé Monte-Carlo, whose own resources were then limited to evening broadcasts, launched the new program “Monte-Carlo Musique” (or MCM Euromusique), a music schedule created by Europe 1 Communication and Télé Monte-Carlo. MCM was broadcast all day long, except in the evening, whenTMC broadcast its own programs. This on-air reformatting allowed TMC to increase its broadcasting via French, Belgian and Swiss cable networks, as the only French music channel (after the closure ofTV6), complemented byD2-MAC satellite broadcasting onTDF-1/TDF-2.
During this period, Télé Monte-Carlo (TMC) played an important role in the production of musical content. The channel welcomed many musicians to its TV sets. TMC made its facilities available for the creation of filmed musical performances or video clips. These sequences, mainly produced in playback, provided artists with a low-cost platform for promoting their music. These programs are often among their first television appearances.[2][3]
TMC was inspired by its programDes Clips et des Claps, presented by Valérie Payet which was a big hit with audiences in the southeast, to create and broadcast Monte-Carlo Musique (MCM), a music program modelled as a French-style MTV called “Euromusique”, co-created by Europe 1 Communication (via its subsidiaryEuromusique) and Télé Monte-Carlo. Valérie Payet was the first presenter on the channel.
The video sequences initially produced for TMC were an important part of MCM's early clip programming. This synergy enriched the catalog of clips available for broadcast, at a time when the production of dedicated music videos was not yet systematic in the French music industry.From June 1990, the MCM program was also broadcast in the Lyon and Toulouse conurbations by the transmitters of the local channelsTLM (Lyon) and TLT (Toulouse), with off-air broadcasts on the same principle as TMC.[4]
Since 1989, under the provisional name “Euromusique”, MCM's music program has been broadcast by satellite in the new D2 Mac broadcasting standard, on the TDF 1 and 2 satellites. These satellite broadcasts could be received free-to-air, but required a receiver compatible with this new standard, or Canal+'s Decsat decoder and a compact satellite dish, or a Visiopass terminal for cable subscribers. However, these satellites suffered from serious breakdowns, and MCM is forced to find alternatives to its English-language competitorMTV.
In 1992, Lagardère SCA (through Europe 1 Communication and its subsidiaryEuromusique) decided to turn the music program MCM, which until then had been broadcast by satellite and repeated on the TMC channel (and TLM), into a fully-fledged music theme channel, to be broadcast on the newCanalsatellite bouquet, of which Lagardère SCA was a shareholder. Broadcasting of MCM on TMC and TLM was discontinued at the end of Summer 1992. The acronym MCM then stands for Ma Chaîne Musicale.
MCM Euromusique had financial difficulties in its early years. The French music channel posted losses of 23 millionfrancs in 1992, followed by 19.4 million francs in 1993.[5]
MCM Africa was created in 1994, then divested in 2002 to Alliance Trace Media and becameTrace TV in 2003.
In January 2000, the Lagardère and Canal+ groups signed a “long-term alliance” in digital television, withGroupe Canal+ acquiring a 49% stake in Lagardère's channels, including MCM.[6][7]
In 2001, MCM 2 was created, broadcasting clips from the 80s and 90s, and targeting the generation that had seen the beginnings of MCM.[8] In 2002, a Belgian version of MCM was launched, which was shut down on 31 December 2009.[9]
On 28 November 2003, MCM 2 becameMCM Pop andMCM Top was launched targeting younger audiences from 15–24, as MCM wasn't anymore a 24h music channel, with international shows andanime.[10]
In January 2005, Lagardère Active and Groupe Canal+ signed an agreement to unwind their cross-shareholdings in MultiThématiques to the Canal+ Group, and in Lagardère Thématiques, which will then be almost entirely owned by the Lagardère group (withPartcom). The separation was made following theConseil d'État's decision of 20 October 2004, which cancelled the DTT authorizations of 6 channels on the grounds of their joint control in Lagardère Thématiques. The two groups thus intended to present themselves under optimum conditions for the next call for entries by theCSA for the allocation of DTT frequencies.[11] The MCM group had already presented the iMCM project in 2002 which had been selected, and renamed itEurope 2 TV in its second hearing on 14 December 2004, whose project was accepted again and launched in 2005.[12]
In 2013, the High Council of Audiovisual (CSA) published the authorization of the new positioning of the initial programming of the MCM channel, towards a more male audience between 15 and 34 years.[13]
In 2015, MCM started airing American adult animated shows fromFox, starting withFamily Guy andFuturama.[14] Previously, the 5 first seasons ofRobot Chicken aired on MCM from 2006 to 2013.[15][16] In 2017, MCM stopped airing animes by removingOne Piece at the end of the year (which new dubbed episodes started to rather premiere onGame One[17]), and premiered in FranceBob's Burgers in November.[18] In September 2018,American Dad was added.[19] MCM also aired seasons ofFamily Guy andBob’s Burgers in simulcast with the US, in the original audio with subtitles.[20][21]
In 2019,Lagardère Active sold its channels including MCM toGroupe M6.[22][23][24] With the acquisition, its female-focused sister channel Elle Girl TV was shut down and some of its programming was moved to MCM at the time.
In 2020, MCM started airing reruns ofPokémon, along withOne Piece that year.[25] In 2023, all adult animated shows were removed of MCM (and other Groupe M6 channels6ter and Série Club whereThe Simpsons also aired at the same time). Since then, MCM only airPokémon in its regular day-time schedule and as animated programming, in addition to musical programmingLa Zone oriented towardsurban music. The channel also air reruns of shows seen on other Groupe M6 channels (This Is Us,MacGyver) and telefilms, in evenings and week-end afternoon.
Since 1989, there have been seven different logos for this channel. The first logo of the channel was used from 1989 to 1991, the second logo was used from 1991 to 1998, the third from 1998 to 2001, the fourth from 2001 to 2005, the fifth from 2005 to 2007, the sixth from 2007 to 2017, and the seventh and current logo has been in use since 2017.
From 1990 to 1995, thedigital on-screen graphic was located on the upper left corner of the screen. From 1995 onwards, it has been moved to the upper right corner of the screen and dropped from upper left corner.
