Viacom Rebrands MTV Hits as NickMusic
Viacom is rebranding its cable net MTV Hits. Beginning Sept. 9, the television channel will become NickMusic, a 24-hour music video destination for kids.
Nickelodeon made the announcement Tuesday morning.
NickMusic will feature a Nickelodeon-curated lineup of music videos with a variety of kids’ favorite artists of all genres. To give an idea of the Top 40 type of programming that will be offered, the new channel’s Facebook page currently boasts images of former Nickelodeon starlet-turned musical phenomenon Ariana Grande, The Weeknd and Sia.
Soon after the Sept. 9 launch, NickMusic will introduce artist-hosted programming blocks, branded segments like “Videos We Heart,” “Pop Playback” and “Bumpin’ Beats,” plus long-form concert specials and series, including “TeenNick Top 10.” The channel will also feature guest DJ sins by Nickelodeon stars, Nick-branded entertainment and celebrity interviews.
MTV Hits launched in 2002. One of the many spinoff networks to MTV, in addition to MTV2, mtvU and more, the cabler primarily broadcasting music videos, resembling the original MTV of the 1980’s and ’90s, before non-music video programming began to fill the net’s programming slate.
NickMusic is the second recent rebrand under the Viacom umbrella. On Aug. 1, VH1 Classic became MTV Classic, which houses ’90s series such as “Beavis and Butthead” and “Daria.”
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