MuchMusic
Encyclopedia
MuchMusic is a Canadian
English language
Category A specialty channel
owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.
. Shortly thereafter, MuchMusic was launched on August 31, 1984 as one of the first Canadian cable specialty channels on the air. It was headed by John Martin
and Moses Znaimer
, the channel's founders. On June 22, 2007, CTVglobemedia gained control of MuchMusic as a result of a takeover of CHUM Limited.
The first video played on MuchMusic was "an early music-to-film synchronization short from the 1920s which featured Eubie Blake performing Snappy Songs." The first video made specifically for television air play was Rush
's "The Enemy Within
".
Bell Canada gained control of MuchMusic through its takeover of CTVglobemedia on April 1, 2011, thus renaming the company's name to Bell Media and giving the channel a new look and a new logo, as well as airing television shows, mainly dramas and reality shows.
The first logo for MuchMusic when it first began was a big M with Muchmusic boxed in the centre of the M. The logo was slightly redesigned as a big M with a small m inside the outline, with the word Muchmusic below the logo. In 1996, a new logo was designed with a black-and-white Much superimposed on a planet with longitude/latitude lines on the surface. In 2010, MuchMusic began to use the new simplistic and multi-colored logo on the station's promos, however the older logo used on-air did not change until April 1, 2011, when MuchMusic was officially relaunched with a new look consisting with a new simpler multi-colored logo; this change coincided with the completion of Bell Canada's acquisition of CTVglobemedia with the company being renamed Bell Media. In May 2011 MuchVibe
was re-launched with a similar new simplistic and multi-colored logo. PunchMuch was rebranded as Juicebox as of November 2011, presently though, MuchLoud
is the only MuchMusic-branded channel that continues to use the logo with Much superimposed on a planet with longitude/latitude lines on the surface and 'Loud' below it.
and the late-1980s game show Test Pattern
, and it adopted some programs originally created for CHUM such as City Limits
, which featured alternative
videos.
The network airs three viewer voting programs: MuchOnDemand
, MuchTakeOver
and PunchMuch
.
MuchMusic is well-known for its annual music awards show every Father's Day. It is anticipated and promoted for weeks before the night of the MMVAs.
It has been credited with helping to foster a vibrant Canadian music scene because of the Canadian content
broadcast rules which mandated native musical acts had a secure and prominent place on the channel's play schedule . As well, MuchMusic funds the creation of new Canadian music videos through MuchFACT and produces the popular album series Big Shiny Tunes
and MuchDance
.
As of 2007, MuchMusic has started to air a vast number of non-music related programs such as Girlicious
, Greek
, America's Best Dance Crew
, The O.C.
, Gossip Girl
, and BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad
(the latter ended its run in June 2007). These programs would often air repeatedly to gain interest from viewers. Before those programs aired, Much Mega Hits was a prominent program that played various music videos based on singles. As a result, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad was one of the only anime
shows aired on the channel.
MuchMusic broadcasts films every Friday night under its MuchMovie banner. The films span across various genres but aiming its youth demographic. However, much of the scenes are edited or cut due to broadcasting reasons. An example would be 8 Mile
, which muted the profanity and removed the sexual and violent content.
, thereby not giving enough time to smaller, independent, and Canadian performers. But in 2005 Video On Trial
premiered, and quickly became the network's highest-rated show while featuring Canadian comedians and personalities almost exclusively as music video "judges". A special, "Stars On Trial
", featured popular VOT regular Ron Sparks as the judge and was the highest-rated special of the year (other than the annual MuchMusic Video Awards
show).
Much has also been the centre of controversy because of its leniency in censorship, sometimes leaving expletives uncensored from videos played on the network, in contrast to MTV, which goes to great lengths in censoring music. However, some programs, due to their wider audience, do remain censored for content. As with MTV, the network also generated controversy by occasionally "banning" videos it deemed too racy or violent for broadcast. Unlike MTV however, MuchMusic broadcasts the controversial videos in a series of late-night specials dubbed Too Much 4 Much
, along with panel discussions on their content and arguments on if it should be banned or not. However, recently, many of the videos are censored, and even airs the MTV censored version.
, the American cable music channel that had premiered a few years earlier. Although never an affiliate, Much over the years would often broadcast MTV-produced programming such as awards shows, concerts, reality TV series and more. MTV itself was not permitted in Canada because of Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) restrictions on format protection. However, no such restrictions existed in the United States
, where CHUM attempted to compete with MTV through MuchUSA (now the unaffiliated Fuse).
Perhaps owing to this, MTV was unwilling to extend its relationship with MuchMusic longer than necessary, and has made two attempts to launch a competing MTV channel in Canada. The first attempt began in 2001 when MTV Canada was launched by Craig Media and Viacom
. MTV Canada had an edge over MuchMusic in that it was licensed by the CRTC as a broadly based teen channel and could air programming from various categories and not just music related programming. In 2004, MTV Canada's owners were bought by CHUM, allowing Viacom to exit its contract with Craig, and stripped MTV programming and branding from the channel forcing Viacom to find another partner to bring MTV to Canada.
The next attempt began in 2006 when Viacom partnered with CTV to rebrand its low rated specialty channel talktv as MTV. With the new launch of MTV in March 2006, MuchMusic lost all rights to MTV programming from that point forward.
Since the acquisition of CHUM Limited (which includes MuchMusic and MuchMore) by CTVglobemedia, MTV and MuchMusic have technically been under the same ownership since June 2007. CTVglobemedia has announced that they plan on maintaining all CHUM's specialty channels including both MuchMusic and MTV. Currently both CTVglobemedia and Viacom have no plans on disaffiliating either channel from its programming and/or branding. In fact, MuchMusic and MTV have even begun airing each other's promo ads (e.g., MuchMusic airing a promo for MTV's The Hills).
simulcast of the standard definition
feed called Much HD. It is currently only available on Bell Satellite TV, Bell Fibe TV
, Rogers Cable
and EastLink
.
; Christopher Ward
, a noted songwriter and producer who collaborated musically with Mike Myers
on the Austin Powers
movies; Sook-Yin Lee
, now a noted CBC Radio
host and actress; Terry David Mulligan
, a prolific film and TV character actor; actress Amanda Walsh
; Erica Ehm
, who became a noted songwriter after leaving Much; and George Stroumboulopoulos
, now a Canadian television personality on CBC
.
" to pick one new VJ to join the team of VJs. They will usually visit cities across Canada and pick people who appear to show potential through their audition. In earlier years, the VJ Search was usually a two-part show, but in 2006 it evolved into its own reality series called Muchmusic VJ Search. As a result of that series Tim Deegan
was chosen as a VJ. It was followed in 2009 by VJ 2.0 where the winner Liz Trinnear was also engaged for the station.
Despite the popularity of the VJ Search, most VJs are still hired by Much directly, without being VJ Search contestants.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
Category A specialty channel
Specialty channel
A specialty channel can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted television market at a specific demographic....
owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.
History
MuchMusic was licensed on April 2, 1984 by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to CHUM LimitedCHUM Limited
CHUM Limited was a media company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from 1945 to 2007. Immediately prior to its acquisition, it held full or joint control of two Canadian television systems — Citytv and A-Channel — comprising 11 local stations, and one CBC Television affiliate, one...
. Shortly thereafter, MuchMusic was launched on August 31, 1984 as one of the first Canadian cable specialty channels on the air. It was headed by John Martin
John Martin (Canadian broadcaster)
John Martin was a Canadian broadcaster, credited with "almost single-handedly" creating music television in Canada.-Early life and career:...
and Moses Znaimer
Moses Znaimer
Moses Znaimer, M.A., O.Ont is a co-founder and former head of Citytv, the first independent television station in Toronto, Canada, and the current head of ZoomerMedia.-Early life and career:...
, the channel's founders. On June 22, 2007, CTVglobemedia gained control of MuchMusic as a result of a takeover of CHUM Limited.
The first video played on MuchMusic was "an early music-to-film synchronization short from the 1920s which featured Eubie Blake performing Snappy Songs." The first video made specifically for television air play was Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
's "The Enemy Within
Grace Under Pressure (Rush album)
Grace Under Pressure is the tenth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1984 . A symbol for the album is the letter "p" above a line with the letter "g" below ....
".
Bell Canada gained control of MuchMusic through its takeover of CTVglobemedia on April 1, 2011, thus renaming the company's name to Bell Media and giving the channel a new look and a new logo, as well as airing television shows, mainly dramas and reality shows.
Logo
MuchVibe
MuchVibe is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel broadcasts urban music programming such as rap, hip hop, r&b, and reggae. Programming is primarily in the form of music videos with other programming including concerts, interviews, and more...
was re-launched with a similar new simplistic and multi-colored logo. PunchMuch was rebranded as Juicebox as of November 2011, presently though, MuchLoud
MuchLOUD
MuchLOUD is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel broadcasts rock, modern rock, alternative, punk, and heavy metal music programming primarily in the form of music videos with other programming including concerts, interviews, and more...
is the only MuchMusic-branded channel that continues to use the logo with Much superimposed on a planet with longitude/latitude lines on the surface and 'Loud' below it.
Programming
Making use of CHUM's facilities and production teams, the channel has produced many specialty musical and variety programs, including the long-running dance program Electric CircusElectric Circus
Electric Circus, aka EC, was a Canadian live dance music television program aired on MuchMusic and Citytv. It aired from September 16, 1988 until December 12, 2003....
and the late-1980s game show Test Pattern
Test Pattern (TV series)
Test Pattern was the first game show on the Canadian television channel MuchMusic in the late from 1989 into the early 1990s. The Music and sound man was Bill St. Amour. The show's announcer was Bill Carroll . It occasionally featured Canadian musicians who were prominent at the time...
, and it adopted some programs originally created for CHUM such as City Limits
City Limits (TV series)
City Limits was a Canadian television series, which aired on Citytv and later MuchMusic in the 1980s. Airing on Fridays at midnight, and on Saturdays, the program aired alternative music videos....
, which featured alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
videos.
The network airs three viewer voting programs: MuchOnDemand
MuchOnDemand
MuchOnDemand was an hour-long per broadcast viewer interactive television program aired on MuchMusic, Monday through Friday at 5pm ET. It was broadcast live from the Much broadcasting studio on 299 Queen Street West in Toronto. The Best of MuchOnDemand, aired Sundays at 10am ET, highlighting the...
, MuchTakeOver
MuchTakeOver
MuchTakeOver is an interactive television program aired on Canadian music video television station MuchMusic, which provides viewers the opportunity to vote by cellphone and online for two pre-chosen contestants...
and PunchMuch
PunchMuch
Juicebox is a Canadian English language Category B music video specialty channel owned by Bell Media.Juicebox is a commercial-free service that broadcasts music videos aimed at kids, specifically, pre-teens...
.
MuchMusic is well-known for its annual music awards show every Father's Day. It is anticipated and promoted for weeks before the night of the MMVAs.
Canadian content
Canadian content refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requirements that radio and television broadcasters must air a certain percentage of content that was at least partly written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to by persons from...
broadcast rules which mandated native musical acts had a secure and prominent place on the channel's play schedule . As well, MuchMusic funds the creation of new Canadian music videos through MuchFACT and produces the popular album series Big Shiny Tunes
Big Shiny Tunes
Big Shiny Tunes is a series of rock albums featuring Various Artists compiled and released by the Canadian music television station MuchMusic, beginning in 1996. The best-selling album of the series was Big Shiny Tunes 2, which was certified Diamond in Canada by the CRIA on March 25, 1998...
and MuchDance
MuchDance
MuchDance is a series of pop/dance albums featuring various artists compiled, mixed and released by the Canadian television station MuchMusic, beginning in 1997...
.
As of 2007, MuchMusic has started to air a vast number of non-music related programs such as Girlicious
Girlicious
Girlicious is an American girl group originally formed by Robin Antin, creator of the Pussycat Dolls, from the CW reality TV show Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious. The group was originally signed to Geffen Records and composed of members Natalie Mejia, Chrystina Sayers, Nichole Corvoda and...
, Greek
Greek (TV series)
Greek is an American comedy-drama television series, which follows students of the fictional Cyprus-Rhodes University , located in Ohio, who participate in the school's Greek system...
, America's Best Dance Crew
America's Best Dance Crew
America's Best Dance Crew, often abbreviated as ABDC, is an American competitive dance reality television series that features street dance crews from the United States and around the world. It is produced by American Idol judge Randy Jackson and airs on MTV...
, The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
, Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
, and BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad
BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad
BECK is a manga by Harold Sakuishi published by Kodansha in Monthly Shōnen Magazine. It was adapted as an anime television series with the title BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad...
(the latter ended its run in June 2007). These programs would often air repeatedly to gain interest from viewers. Before those programs aired, Much Mega Hits was a prominent program that played various music videos based on singles. As a result, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad was one of the only anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
shows aired on the channel.
MuchMusic broadcasts films every Friday night under its MuchMovie banner. The films span across various genres but aiming its youth demographic. However, much of the scenes are edited or cut due to broadcasting reasons. An example would be 8 Mile
8 Mile (film)
8 Mile is a 2002 American hip-hop drama film written by Scott Silver, directed by Curtis Hanson, and starring Eminem, Mekhi Phifer, Brittany Murphy, and Kim Basinger....
, which muted the profanity and removed the sexual and violent content.
Controversy
In recent years, particularly with the brief arrival of MTV on Canadian digital cable, the influence of MuchMusic has waned, and the channel has had to weather criticism that it focuses too much on "top 40" acts and imported MTV "reality shows" like Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica and Pimp My RidePimp My Ride
Pimp My Ride is a TV show produced by MTV. Each episode consists of taking one car in poor condition and restoring it and customizing it.The original United States version was hosted by rapper Xzibit...
, thereby not giving enough time to smaller, independent, and Canadian performers. But in 2005 Video On Trial
Video On Trial
Video on Trial is a Canadian comedy television program that airs on Canadian television network MuchMusic. The show consists of a panel of musicians, comedians, and entertainment columnists critiquing five different music videos in a courtroom-esque manner. The panel acts as the jurors, poking fun...
premiered, and quickly became the network's highest-rated show while featuring Canadian comedians and personalities almost exclusively as music video "judges". A special, "Stars On Trial
Stars On Trial
Stars on Trial is a MuchMusic television special based on the MuchMusic television program Video on Trial. It premiered in late December 2005, as part of the network's annual "Holiday Wrap." Stars on Trial uses basically the same concept as Video on Trial...
", featured popular VOT regular Ron Sparks as the judge and was the highest-rated special of the year (other than the annual MuchMusic Video Awards
MuchMusic Video Awards
The MuchMusic Video Awards are annual awards presented by the Canadian music video channel MuchMusic to honour the year's best music videos....
show).
Much has also been the centre of controversy because of its leniency in censorship, sometimes leaving expletives uncensored from videos played on the network, in contrast to MTV, which goes to great lengths in censoring music. However, some programs, due to their wider audience, do remain censored for content. As with MTV, the network also generated controversy by occasionally "banning" videos it deemed too racy or violent for broadcast. Unlike MTV however, MuchMusic broadcasts the controversial videos in a series of late-night specials dubbed Too Much 4 Much
Too Much 4 Much
Too Much 4 Much was a Canadian television series, which aired on MuchMusic. The series, which aired after midnight Eastern time, played controversial videos which had, for one reason or another, been banned from regular rotation on the network, and featured panel discussions on the issues raised by...
, along with panel discussions on their content and arguments on if it should be banned or not. However, recently, many of the videos are censored, and even airs the MTV censored version.
Relationship with MTV
MuchMusic was launched in part to capitalize on the success of MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, the American cable music channel that had premiered a few years earlier. Although never an affiliate, Much over the years would often broadcast MTV-produced programming such as awards shows, concerts, reality TV series and more. MTV itself was not permitted in Canada because of Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) restrictions on format protection. However, no such restrictions existed in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where CHUM attempted to compete with MTV through MuchUSA (now the unaffiliated Fuse).
Perhaps owing to this, MTV was unwilling to extend its relationship with MuchMusic longer than necessary, and has made two attempts to launch a competing MTV channel in Canada. The first attempt began in 2001 when MTV Canada was launched by Craig Media and Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
. MTV Canada had an edge over MuchMusic in that it was licensed by the CRTC as a broadly based teen channel and could air programming from various categories and not just music related programming. In 2004, MTV Canada's owners were bought by CHUM, allowing Viacom to exit its contract with Craig, and stripped MTV programming and branding from the channel forcing Viacom to find another partner to bring MTV to Canada.
The next attempt began in 2006 when Viacom partnered with CTV to rebrand its low rated specialty channel talktv as MTV. With the new launch of MTV in March 2006, MuchMusic lost all rights to MTV programming from that point forward.
Since the acquisition of CHUM Limited (which includes MuchMusic and MuchMore) by CTVglobemedia, MTV and MuchMusic have technically been under the same ownership since June 2007. CTVglobemedia has announced that they plan on maintaining all CHUM's specialty channels including both MuchMusic and MTV. Currently both CTVglobemedia and Viacom have no plans on disaffiliating either channel from its programming and/or branding. In fact, MuchMusic and MTV have even begun airing each other's promo ads (e.g., MuchMusic airing a promo for MTV's The Hills).
Affiliated channels
With the success of MuchMusic, several spinoff channels have been launched within Canada and around the world, including:- MuchMore: Primarily focusing on adult contemporaryAdult contemporary musicAdult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music....
, classic rockClassic rockClassic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
, and generally lighter music. Launched in 1998 as a sister station to MuchMusic, MuchMore has developed into its own brand, respectively, spawning its own spinoff channels separate from MuchMusic. The channel was previously known as MuchMoreMusic until March 31, 2009. - MuchLOUDMuchLOUDMuchLOUD is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel broadcasts rock, modern rock, alternative, punk, and heavy metal music programming primarily in the form of music videos with other programming including concerts, interviews, and more...
: RockRock musicRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, modern rockModern rockModern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
, alternativeAlternative rockAlternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, punkPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and metalHeavy metal musicHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. - MuchVibe: Urban music such as rapRappingRapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
, hip hopHip hop musicHip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, R&B and reggaeReggaeReggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
.
Former
- MusiquePlusMusiquePlusMusiquePlus is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel owned by Astral Media operating from Montreal, Quebec.MusiquePlus is devoted to music and music related programming from various genres including pop, rock, RnB and focuses on a younger demographic than its sister station, MusiMax...
: The first spinoff channel of MuchMusic. Launched in 1986, it was developed as a Canadian French languageFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
version of MuchMusic. In September 2008, new owner Astral MediaAstral MediaAstral Media Inc. is a Canadian media corporation. It is Canada's largest radio broadcaster with 83 radio stations in eight provinces, and is a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, including The Movie Network, Super Écran, Family, Teletoon, Canal D, Canal Vie, VRAK.TV,...
dropped the MuchMusic style branding and separated itself from the network. - MuchMusic also formerly operated PunchMuch, an all-request music videoMusic videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
service consisting of music videos from various genres within the scope of MuchMusic itself. The channel was rebranded on November 17, 2011 as Juicebox, a music video channel aimed at pre-teens.
Current
- muchmusic Czech: Launched in 2006, available in the Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. - MuchMusic Latin America: Launched in 1992, originally available in only ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, is now available in several Latin American countries. - MuchMusic also has several programming contracts with various broadcasters internationally, where a MuchMusic programming block consists on existing channels including such countries as ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
.
Past
- MuchMusic Malaysia
- Much Arabyeah!
- MuchMusic BrasilMuchMusic BrasilMuchMusic Brasil was a Brazilian cable television network and a Brazilian version of the Canadian music network MuchMusic. Launched in 2000, it had a hard time competing with MTV Brazil and in December 2001 the network ceased production, and went off the air....
: Launched in 2000. Ceased broadcasting in 2001. - MuchUSA: Launched in 1994. License to use MuchMusic name and content revoked, and renamed Fuse TVFuse TVFuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....
in 2003. - MuchMusic also had a programming block on MTV3MTV3MTV3 is a Finnish commercial television station owned by Bonnier. It had the biggest audience share of all Finnish TV channels until Finnish Broadcasting Company’s YLE1 took the lead. The letters MTV stand for Mainos-TV , due to the channel getting its revenue from running commercials...
in FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
called JYRKI.
Much HD
On June 1, 2011 MuchMusic launched a high definitionHigh-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
simulcast of the standard definition
Standard-definition television
Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as...
feed called Much HD. It is currently only available on Bell Satellite TV, Bell Fibe TV
Bell Fibe TV
Bell Fibe TV is an IP-based television service offered by Bell Canada in Ontario and Quebec. It is bundled with Bell Fibe Internet, and uses the Microsoft Mediaroom platform....
, Rogers Cable
Rogers Cable
Rogers Cable Inc., a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., is Canada's largest cable television service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet subscribers, in Manitoba, Southern & Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.The...
and EastLink
EastLink (company)
EastLink is a Canadian cable television and telecommunications company. In 1970, EastLink was established in Amherst, Nova Scotia, when it was issued one of the first cable licences granted by the CRTC...
.
VJs
A wide range of individuals have served as MuchMusic's on-air hosts, or VJs. A number of notable Canadian and American television personalities either began their careers at MuchMusic or spent time there. Among these are J.D. Roberts who today (2010) under the name John Roberts is an anchor for CNNCNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
; Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward
Christopher Ward may refer to:* Christopher Ward , Canadian songwriter and broadcaster* Christopher Ward , British solicitor and Conservative Party politician...
, a noted songwriter and producer who collaborated musically with Mike Myers
Mike Myers (actor)
Michael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
on the Austin Powers
Austin Powers (film series)
The Austin Powers series is a series of action-comedy films written by and starring Mike Myers as the title character, directed by Jay Roach and distributed by New Line Cinema...
movies; Sook-Yin Lee
Sook-Yin Lee
Sook-Yin Lee is a Canadian musician, filmmaker, actress and media personality.-Background:Lee grew up in a Vancouver suburb, the second-oldest daughter of immigrants. She was raised as a devout Roman Catholic. Her father was a post-World War II orphan from Hong Kong, her mother an escapee from...
, now a noted CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
host and actress; Terry David Mulligan
Terry David Mulligan
Terry David Mulligan is a Canadian actor and radio and television personality based in Vancouver, British Columbia.Born in New Westminster, British Columbia, Mulligan's first career was as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer in Olds, Alberta and Red Deer, Alberta from 1960 through 1964...
, a prolific film and TV character actor; actress Amanda Walsh
Amanda Walsh
Amanda Walsh is a Canadian actress and former VJ for the Canadian television station MuchMusic.-Career beginnings:Walsh was born in Rigaud, Quebec. She went to Hudson High School, in Hudson, Quebec...
; Erica Ehm
Erica Ehm
Erica Ehm is best known as a pioneering video jockey at the Canadian cable television station MuchMusic...
, who became a noted songwriter after leaving Much; and George Stroumboulopoulos
George Stroumboulopoulos
George Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known as the host of CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and being a VJ for Canadian music television channel MuchMusic...
, now a Canadian television personality on CBC
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
.
Current
- Sarah TaylorSarah Taylor (personality)- Early life :Taylor is from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. She studied English and Women's Studies at McMaster University.- Career :She was discovered in the audience for the MuchMusic show MuchOnDemand in 2004, and was asked to be one of the VJs for the channel....
- Jesse GiddingsJesse GiddingsJesse Giddings born in Langley, British Columbia is a Canadian Television Host starting October 2009 at MuchMusic, a music television station in Canada. He is also a musician, designer and a model....
- Liz Trinnear
- Lauren ToyotaLauren ToyotaLauren Toyota is a Canadian television personality who gained national exposure as the co-host of 969 on Razer.-Career:Toyota worked as an intern for "SONY BMG" towards a Diploma in Entertainment Administration before landing her opportunity at Razer. She was also the host of CityTV Vancouver's...
- Phoebe Dykstra
- Damian AbrahamFucked UpFucked Up is a hardcore punk band from Toronto, Canada. The band won the 2009 Polaris Music Prize for the album The Chemistry of Common Life.-History:The band formed and played their first shows in early 2001...
- Tyrone "T-RexXx" Edwards
Past
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Dan Gallagher Dan Gallagher was a Canadian broadcaster who hosted the CBC Television music video program Video Hits from 1991 to 1993. In the 1980s he appeared on the Canadian music channel MuchMusic as a VJ and host of the Pepsi Power Hour... Jennifer Hollett Jennifer Hollett is a Canadian television personality, currently a contributor to CBC News Network's prime time show Connect with Mark Kelley.... Bradford How Bradford How was a MuchMusic VJ from 2000 to 2003. He won the 2000 MuchMusic VJ Search, and became one of the channel's most well-liked video jockeys. After stints hosting Electric Circus and Gonna Meet A Rockstar, among other shows, he left MuchMusic on October 30, 2003 to pursue other ambitions... Namugenyi Kiwanuka Namugenyi "Nam" Kiwanuka is a Canadian television personality and journalist. Formerly a VJ for MuchMusic from 1999 to 2003, she was later a host of NBA XL and CFL Crunch on Rogers Sportsnet.... George Lagogianes George Lagogianes is a Canadian television personality, currently a reporter/anchor for CP24.Lagogianes was previously the host of Live at 5 before they changed the format of the show and changed the time from 5pm-5:30pm. He anchored the weeknight news... Avi Lewis Avram David "Avi" Lewis is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, host of the Al Jazeera English show , and former host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation current-affairs program On the Map.-Family:... Sook-Yin Lee Sook-Yin Lee is a Canadian musician, filmmaker, actress and media personality.-Background:Lee grew up in a Vancouver suburb, the second-oldest daughter of immigrants. She was raised as a devout Roman Catholic. Her father was a post-World War II orphan from Hong Kong, her mother an escapee from... Ziggy Lorenc Isabelle Anna Lorenc is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known for hosting programming on Citytv, MuchMusic and Bravo! after working for CHUMCity as a receptionist.... Leah Miller Leah Miller is a former MuchMusic VJ from Toronto, and current host for So You Think You Can Dance Canada. She is also a correspondent for the entertainment news show ETalk.-Early life:... Terry David Mulligan Terry David Mulligan is a Canadian actor and radio and television personality based in Vancouver, British Columbia.Born in New Westminster, British Columbia, Mulligan's first career was as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer in Olds, Alberta and Red Deer, Alberta from 1960 through 1964... Nardwuar the Human Serviette Nardwuar the Human Serviette is a Canadian celebrity interviewer and musician from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is the lead singer and keyboardist for The Evaporators and plays in Thee Goblins.... Rachel Perry Rachel Perry is a Canadian TV personality currently working in the United States. The former MuchMusic VJ is the host of All Access on VH1, and is the narrator for Web Junk 20, and the host of "The Stash" on Playboy TV... Juliette Powell Juliette Powell is a Canadian television host, producer and author. She was the Miss Canada titleholder in 1989, that contest's first Black Canadian winner.... |
Natalie Richard Natalie Richard is a Canadian television personality, formerly a VJ on both the English-language MuchMusic and French-language MusiquePlus networks. On MuchMusic she hosted French Kiss for several years, which aired French language music videos. She also took the occasional acting role for... Daniel Richler Daniel Richler is a Canadian arts and pop culture broadcaster and writer. He is the stepson of author Mordecai Richler.-Biography:Born in London, England, his family moved back to his stepfather's hometown of Montreal when Daniel was 15... Teresa Roncon Teresa Roncon is a former Canadian journalist. She was a personality on Discovery Channel Canada, and formerly a CFTO reporter. Prior to both, she was a VJ on MuchMusic. She moved from journalism to public relations, and is currently working as the Manager of Corporate Relations for... Hannah Simone Hannah Simone is a television host, actress, and former fashion model. From May 2006 to November 2008, she worked as a VJ for MuchMusic in Canada, and now currently stars as Cece Meyers on New Girl.-Childhood:... Devon Soltendieck Devon Soltendieck is a former MuchMusic VJ from the city of Dorval, on the island of Montreal. He has been an anchor and reporter on CP24 since early 2010.-Early Life:... George Stroumboulopoulos George Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known as the host of CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and being a VJ for Canadian music television channel MuchMusic... Amanda Walsh Amanda Walsh is a Canadian actress and former VJ for the Canadian television station MuchMusic.-Career beginnings:Walsh was born in Rigaud, Quebec. She went to Hudson High School, in Hudson, Quebec... Christopher Ward (songwriter) Christopher William Ward is a Canadian songwriter and broadcaster, known as a former long-standing on-air personality at MuchMusic, Canada's music video network, where he and J.D. Roberts were among the first video jockeys in 1984... Bill Welychka Bill Welychka is a Canadian television personality.Welychka joined CHUM Limited in 1988 as a video editor for MuchMusic... Michael Williams (Canadian TV personality) Michael Williams is a Canadian television personality who is best known for his work as a veejay at MuchMusic from 1984 to 1993 where he hosted various shows including Soul in the City, Rap City, Electric Circus, Pepsi Power Hour and The NewMusic.He was recently a radio personality in Hamilton,... Byron Wong Byron Kent Wong is a Toronto and Los Angeles-based producer, musician, director and entrepreneur.He founded Random Media Core Inc, in 1993, a Canadian company dedicated to music, design, marketing, and new media.... Master T Tony "Master T" Young is a Canadian television and radio personality and urban music promoter. He was raised in Kitchener, Ontario.... |
VJ Search
Every few years, when new video jockeys are needed, Much runs a "VJ SearchVJ Search
VJ Search is the title of a reality television program aired on Canadian music video TV station MuchMusic. A new series is created every few years and the main point is to find a new MuchMusic VJ to join the current list of MuchMusic personalities....
" to pick one new VJ to join the team of VJs. They will usually visit cities across Canada and pick people who appear to show potential through their audition. In earlier years, the VJ Search was usually a two-part show, but in 2006 it evolved into its own reality series called Muchmusic VJ Search. As a result of that series Tim Deegan
Tim Deegan
Tim Deegan is a former VJ on MuchMusic, a music television station in Canada.-Early life:Tim grew up in Oshawa east of Toronto and he attended O'Neill Collegiate and Vocational Institute, and had a part time job at a grocery store. Tim joined a band during high school, which played handfuls of...
was chosen as a VJ. It was followed in 2009 by VJ 2.0 where the winner Liz Trinnear was also engaged for the station.
Despite the popularity of the VJ Search, most VJs are still hired by Much directly, without being VJ Search contestants.