Pay TV monolith Foxtel has announced it will be formally winding up its Australian-based music stations, with stalwart channels Channel [V], MAX, and CMCset to wind up for good on June 30th, ending a 25-year run on local screens.
In their place, Foxtel announced an extended partnership with US giant ViacomCBS that will see an expanded range of MTV-based multi-channels, as well as a kid-friendly Nickelodeon music channel, take over pay TV air waves from July on.
[V] had already significantly rolled back its operations in 2016, ending its heyday period that gave Australian TV presenters such as Osher Günsberg (at the time the shaggy-haired Andrew G), James Matheson, Yumi Stynes, Danny Clayton, and Jabba.
Since 2016, the channel operated as a two-hour timeshifted music video network, initially rebadged as [V] Hits before later being known simply as [V].
Similarly, MAX – originally MusicMax – and CMC will also cease operations fully, which also means a number of locally-based jobs will be shed from the Foxtel business.
In their place, Foxtel and ViacomCBS’s new deal will see a raft of new stations hit the air, headed up by MTV Hits, MTV Classic, and Club MTV, covering a swathe of genres both new and old. The enduring CMT will also make its Australian debut to fill the country void in all your lonely hearts, and a kid-friendly NickMusic channel will also launch, in a first-of-its-kind venture.
In a statement issued this afternoon, Foxtel’s Executive Director of Television Brian Walsh stated “We are proud of the heritage of our owned and operated music channels and the success they have enjoyed entertaining Foxtel customers for the past 25 years. I want to acknowledge the management and music teams, past and present, who created Channel V, Max and CMC.”
It might not exactly be What U Want, but it’s certainly what’s happening. So it goes.
