vh1 music videos
July 24th, 2010 | Published in Music Videos
VH1 (known as VH-1: Video Hits One from 1985 to 1994 and VH1: Music First until 2003) is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting’s short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly older demographic than its sister channel, focusing on the lighter, softer side of popular music.
The channel was originally created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communications and owner of MTV. Both VH1 and its sister channel MTV are currently part of the MTV Networks division of corporate parent Viacom. While VH1 still occasionally plays music videos and the Top 20 Video Countdown, its more recent claim to fame has been in the area of music-related reality programming, such as Behind the Music, the I Love the… series, the Celebrity block of programming, and the channel’s overall focus on popular culture.
In 2003, the network changed its focus again, dropping “Music First” from its name, and introducing their new and current box logo. Having saturated its Behind The Music series (and spinoff BTM2, a 30-minute version that told the stories of current chart-toppers), gotten past the point of showing vh1 music videos on a regular basis, and endured a 35% ratings decline over the past several years, the network began to target the pop culture nostalgia market just like its sister MTV.The network primarily plays reality shows now.