Video On Trial

Video on Trial
The opening title card for Video on Trial, starting in season 9
Starring	Aisha Alfa, Paul Lemieux
Country of origin	Canada
No. of episodes	248 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Various (see section)
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	CHUM Limited CTV Globemedia
Release
Original network	MuchMusic
Picture format	1080i (HDTV) (2011-2014) 480i (SDTV) (2005-2011)
Original release	August 15, 2005 – July 6, 2014
External links
Website

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 at and questioning each artist's behaviour in each video. Artists' personal lives and off-set behaviour are usually mocked by the critics in relation to the music video. They are shown in separate clips to use their opinions.

Since its debut on August 15, 2005 the show has become one of the most highly rated and successful shows on MuchMusic, attracting a dedicated cult following and has garnered a Gemini Award nomination. The show also experienced a brief run on American television, airing on television network Fuse TV from October 2011 to early 2012 before being replaced by another series, Special Videos Unit: Video on Trial, based upon the same premise as the original Canadian Video on Trial.

At the start of the ninth season, the show's format was overhauled to feature recurring sketches and segments. The panel was replaced by Aisha Alfa and Paul Lemieux. Only four episodes into the revamp, the show was cancelled as part of significant cutbacks at Bell Media on July 11, 2014.

The show's producers usually pick the videos featured on the show. However, they are still required to get clearance from the copyright holders of the video to get the video featured on the show. Only after clearance is given can the video be featured on the show. An episode usually features videos recent at the time of the episode's airing, with at least one of the five videos per episode still being in rotation. Some non-themed episodes feature older videos, though, mostly those from the early 2000s, and popular videos from 1997 to 1999 have been played on rare occasions.