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MTV will be visually challenged
Universal and Echostar team up to launch new music channel that will rival MTV.
Will IMF resonate with viewers of
Wonder Showzen?
Universal Music and Echostar Communications, owners of Dish Network, were only recently involved in litigation against each other. Now, according to Broadcasting & Cable, the two are planning to work together to launch a music video channel that will rival MTV.
International Music Feed, or IMF, as the channel is called, will feature US artists such as Black Eyed Peas, as well as Latin, Indian, and other international artists from various Universal labels. It is unknown whether IMF will show any videos from artists who are signed with non-Universal labels.
IMF will be headed by Andy Schuon, who was the head of music programming for MTV until 1997, then headed up the ill-fated Universal/Sony on-demand music subscription service pressplay.
The legal scuffle between the two companies began when Universal attempted to launch IMF in January 2005, and Echostar refused to add the channel to their Dish Network service. Universal parent Vivendi Universal had invested money in Echostar in 2001 in a deal that gave Universal five slots on Dish Network. Even though Vivendi sold its stake in Echostar, Universal still believed they had the legal right to a slot for IMF.
In April 2005, Universal secured a court order forcing Echostar to add the channel. Now, the two companies have stopped fighting and are working together on the venture, and Universal is hoping to announce the launch of the channel in April at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association's convention.
MTV, which is owned by Viacom, licenses music videos from all of the record labels. The channel has moved away from it's original schedule of playing music videos and now airs more teen-reality programming, such as
The Real World and My Super Sweet Sixteen. MTV created MTV2 to focus on playing music videos, but now MTV2 has cut down on playing music videos and airs series such as Wonder Showzen and The Andy Milonakis Show.
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