MTV2
| MTV2 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Launched | August 1, 1996 |
| Owned by | Viacom Media Networks (Viacom) |
| Picture format |
1080i (HDTV) 480i (SDTV/16:9 letterbox) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Broadcast area | Nationwide (available in most areas) |
| Formerly called | M2 (1996–1999) |
| Replaced | The Box (1985–2001) |
| Sister channel(s) |
MTV MTV Classic MTV Live MTVU Tres VH1 |
| Website | www.mtv.com/mtv2 |
|
Availability
|
|
| Satellite | |
| DirecTV | 332 (HD/SD) |
| Dish Network | 161 (SD only) |
| C-Band | AMC 18-Channel 231 (H2H 4DTV) |
| Cable | |
| Available on many U.S. cable providers | Check local listings for channel numbers |
| IPTV | |
| Verizon FiOS | 711 (HD) 211 (SD) |
| AT&T U-verse | 1504 (HD) 504 (SD) |
| Streaming media | |
| Sling TV | Internet Protocol television |
MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American digital cable and satellite television channel owned by Viacom Global Entertainment Group, a unit of the Viacom Media Networks division of Viacom. The channel was initially broadcast over-the-air in selected markets, where the former all-request music channel known as The Box was broadcast. The channel was originally launched as a constant commercial-free music video channel, much like the original MTV channel; but once MTV started to change its focus from music to reality television in the 2000s, MTV2's focus changed as well, thus bringing music video programming away from both MTV and MTV2. Today, MTV2 broadcasts unscripted programming and syndicated television episodes from MTV and other networks.
In February 2015, approximately 79,416,000 American households (68.2% of households with television) received MTV2.
MTV2 began broadcasting as simply M2 on August 1, 1996 – MTV's 15th anniversary – with Beck's "Where It's At" being the first video to air. M2 was created ostensibly to answer critics and viewers who complained MTV didn't show music videos anymore; in reality, M2 was part of MTV Networks' strategy to expand its brand in anticipation of the coming shift to digital cable, which would exponentially increase the number of available channels on the cable spectrum. Based on MTV Network's internal research, viewers' pent-up demand for additional music video viewing options—a demand that M2 was designed to meet—fed expectations within the company that the new channel's success would be inevitable and immediate.
Upon M2's launch, the new 24-hour music video network proved to be as popular with viewers as MTV hoped. However, as digital cable technology was slow to expand into major cities, cable companies refused to add yet another music channel to their limited, pre-digital channel lineup, arguing that with MTV, VH1, CMT, Fuse and other niche music video options, the audience for 'music on TV' was being sufficiently serviced. Even the fact that M2 generated huge ratings whenever it was tested—by the cable companies themselves—in free previews around the country wasn't enough to convince the cable gatekeepers to add M2 to their lineup. As a result, in its first couple of years on the air, M2 was restricted to satellite television plus the few, small markets where digital cable was then available, limiting its audience reach to around 12 million homes by 2000. M2 also broadcast live over the internet during its early years, which meant it was similarly ahead of its time in a period when few people had broadband internet connections. Due in part to the unexpectedly slow roll-out of the fledgling channel, MTV Networks decided to rebrand M2 in the first quarter of 1999, changing the name to MTV2 in the hopes the new image would signal a new start. As digital cable expanded nationwide, MTV2 continued its own inexorable growth.
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