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Much is a
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
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discretionary
specialty channel A specialty channel (also known in the United States as a cable channel or cable network) can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targete ...
owned by BCE Inc. through its
Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (Canadian French, French: ) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include nati ...
subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was once called the MuchMusic World Headquarters. This channel was originally launched on August 31, 1984 as MuchMusic, under the ownership of
CHUM Limited CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. The company was founded in 1945 as York Broadcasters Limited when it launched CHUM (AM), CHUM-AM 1050 but was acquired by salesman Allan Waters in ...
, the owner of
Citytv Citytv (sometimes shortened to City, which was the network's official branding from 2012 to 2018) is a Television in Canada, Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consis ...
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, though "Much" has been the branding most commonly seen on-air since 1997. In 2006, Bell Globemedia acquired MuchMusic and its parent CHUM Limited, but regulatory limits in media ownership forced CHUM to sell off the Citytv stations to avoid conflicts with CTV stations in the same markets. CTVglobemedia retained the ownership of MuchMusic along with CP24 and the small market A-Channel stations. Much was acquired yet again by Bell Media in 2011. This channel originally focused on
music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
programming, including blocks of
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
s and original series focusing on Canadian musicians. Due to shrinking interest in music television because of the growth of online platforms, MuchMusic had increasingly focused on non-music programming targeting a young adult audience, such as comedy, films, and reality shows, and the network has cancelled the majority of its music programming due to budget and staffing cuts. This channel was officially renamed "Much" in 2013 in reflection of its decreasing reliance on music-related programming. From 2021 onward, the "MuchMusic" branding has been used exclusively for its digital media network, which operates in parallel with the linear "Much" TV channel. Since its launch, MuchMusic had expanded globally such as the United States in 1994 (now known as Fuse), Europe and beyond. This channel began to launch multiple spinoffs throughout its existence under the Much brand such as MuchMoreMusic in 1998 targeting older adult demographic and a suite of channels ranging from
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
, rock, retro and request call-in channels throughout the 2000s. In addition, MuchMusic also had a good relations with U.S.-based
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
which also aired a number of programs on that channel since its inception. This led to Craig Media launching its own MTV channel in 2001 leading to a rivalry between the two companies in the early 2000s until CHUM acquired Craig in 2004. MTV would return to Canada in 2006 although it was licensed as a talk channel and since CTV acquired Much in 2007, Much and MTV became sister channels despite the decreasing of music programming within the 2010s decade. After the closure of MTV Canada in 2024, Much would take over the channel's remaining programming. As a former Category A service, Much was required to be carried on the basic service of all digital cable providers across Canada. The channel was, and still is, typically offered optionally at the discretion of providers.


History


Under Moses Znaimer and CHUM (1984–2006)

MuchMusic was licensed on April 2, 1984, by the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...
(CRTC) to
CHUM Limited CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. The company was founded in 1945 as York Broadcasters Limited when it launched CHUM (AM), CHUM-AM 1050 but was acquired by salesman Allan Waters in ...
. It had faced competition from two other proposed services. One of them, ''CMTV Canadian Music Television'', was deemed not to have sufficient financial resources. The third applicant was Rogers Radio Broadcasting. The CRTC believed that the Canadian market could only support one music video service and CHUM's proposal was chosen because of various commitments it had made and the company's expertise in music programming. The station was initially patterned on ''
City Limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary (real estate), boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. ...
'', an overnight weekend rock music show which had aired on sister station CITY-TV since 1983. Shortly thereafter, MuchMusic ("Much" is an anagram of "CHUM", its owner) was launched on August 31, 1984, as one of the first Canadian cable specialty channels. It was headed by the channel's founders John Martin and Moses Znaimer. The first video played on MuchMusic was "an early music-to-film synchronization short from the 1920s which featured
Eubie Blake James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. Blake began his career in 1912, and during World War I he worked in partnership with the singer, drum ...
performing Snappy Songs." The first video made specifically for television air play was Rush's " The Enemy Within". MuchMusic's slogan, and on-air advertising, was "The Nation's Music Station". The station was originally located at CITY-TV's 99 Queen Street East studios, but by May 1987, Much, along with CITY, moved to the renovated 299 Queen Street West. Making use of CHUM's facilities and production teams, the channel produced many specialty musical and variety shows, including the long-running dance show '' Electric Circus'' and the late 1980s game show '' Test Pattern'', and Citytv shows such as ''City Limits'', ''The Power Hour'', ''The MuchMusic Spotlight'' and '' The New Music'' also became integral parts of the MuchMusic schedule. The channel's format consisted primarily of an eight-hour daily block which mixed scheduled shows with VJ-hosted general "videoflow", which would then be repeated two more times to fill the 24-hour schedule (originally a six-hour block repeated three times). Some variance from this model was seen with the late-night shows ''City Limits'' and '' Too Much 4 Much'' (a show that featured panel discussions surrounding controversial music videos that the channel had refused to air in regular rotation), and live specials such as '' Intimate and Interactive''. For the first few years of the channel, it was classified as a
pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...
service and was therefore offered largely in bundles along with other pay-stations such as First Choice and TSN, and would occasionally offer free preview weekends for non-subscribers. The subscriber count was at 500,000 customers by December 1984. In December 1987, MuchMusic received permission from the CRTC to move to basic cable lineups beginning on September 1, 1988; in the interim cable operators could offer the channel as a negative-option expanded basic channel. In the 1990s and 2000s, the channel ran an annual "MuchTemp" contest, whose winner would get a two-month summer paid
internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...
at the station to learn about the television business. The most noted winner of the contest, Rick Campanelli (1994), stayed on with MuchMusic in other roles after the end of his internship, and became a full VJ in 1996; one of the longest-serving VJs in the station's history, he remained with the station until leaving in 2005 to become one of the hosts of '' Entertainment Tonight Canada''. A US version of MuchMusic, originally known as "MuchMusic USA", was launched in the U.S. on July 1, 1994, through a partnership with Rainbow Media. The network was largely a simulcast of the Canadian version with U.S. advertising and acquired programs. The network would go into its own direction over time, eventually rebranding as Fuse in 2003. In 1995, the annual Canadian Music Video Awards were renamed to the "
MuchMusic Video Awards The iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards were an annual awards show broadcast annually on Much (TV channel), Much from 1990 to 2018, and Fuse (TV channel), Fuse from 2010 to 2013 that honoured the year's best music videos. Originally debuting in ...
" (presently known as the "
iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast, radio streaming and Music Streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. Founded in August 2008, iHeartRadio serves as the national umbrella brand for iHeart ...
MMVAs" as of 2018). Since 1996, the ceremonies have been held outside the formerly-named "MuchMusic Headquarters" on 299 Queen Street West, the present-day main offices for
Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (Canadian French, French: ) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include nati ...
's speciality channels. In 2002, MuchMusic introduced promos that consisted of one of twelve images of a VJ posing in front of the network's logo, lasting for only 1/60th of a second each. The "quickies" were recognized with a
Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
for the world's shortest television commercial. Znaimer stepped down from the CHUM board in 2003, although he continued to produce some of Much's programming until the formation of MZ Media in 2007.


Under Bell (2006–present)

In July 2006, Bell Globemedia (later called CTVglobemedia) announced that it would purchase CHUM for an estimated , including MuchMusic. The sale was subject to CRTC approval and was approved in June 2007, with the transaction completed on June 22, 2007, while the
Citytv Citytv (sometimes shortened to City, which was the network's official branding from 2012 to 2018) is a Television in Canada, Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consis ...
stations were sold to
Rogers Media Rogers Media Inc., operating as Rogers Sports & Media, is a Canadian subsidiary of Rogers Communications that owns the company's mass media and sports properties. Operations Current television brands owned by Rogers include two television sys ...
in the same year. Since then, MuchMusic has aired a vast number of non-music related shows, mainly
teen drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...
s and
reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
s. In 2010, the CRTC rejected a request by CTVglobemedia to reduce the percentage of music video programming that the channel shows from 50 to 25 percent. CTV's second request to the CRTC to reduce and reposition its Canadian programming was also denied. For the reasoning behind these requests, CTV explained that "music videos no longer distinguish the service as they are readily available through other sources." This was met with mixed reaction by music fans and drew the ire of notable artists. On June 1, 2011, MuchMusic launched its high definition simulcast feed. Beginning in September 2013, the channel would air more
comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
programming targeting young adult men during the late afternoon and primetime hours, much of it moved from The Comedy Network. Such shows included
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
series (such as ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
'', '' Tosh.0'' and '' The Jeselnik Offensive''), reruns of ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' and '' The Cleveland Show'', as well as ''
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,
'' and '' Conan''. These changes came when Comedy's request for licence amendments to reduce requirements for Canadian content and increase the amount of animated programming it could air was denied. Around the same time, the channel officially shortened its name to "Much"; while the "Much" shorthand had historically been used as part of its branding, the channel had still used "MuchMusic" as its main branding. Most of the channel's previous non-music programming, such as ''
Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery teen drama television series created by I. Marlene King, which aired on Freeform (TV channel), Freeform from June 8, 2010 to June 27, 2017, based on the novel series Pretty Little L ...
'' and '' Degrassi'', moved to sister channels M3 (formerly MuchMoreMusic and MuchMore) and
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
respectively. At the same time the channel cut back further on original music-related programming apart from '' Video on Trial'', '' The Wedge'', countdowns, and other non-hosted blocks of music videos, with '' New.Music.Live.'' confirmed to have been cancelled and the likes of '' RapCity'' no longer appearing on Much's schedule. By the summer of 2014, amidst production and staffing cutbacks, the ''Countdown'' went on hiatus and Much's remaining original shows, including a revamped ''Video on Trial'', were cancelled. Meanwhile, in August, Much celebrated its 30th anniversary. A half-hour anniversary special, ''30 Years of Much'', aired on August 30, 2014, and was preceded by a full-day countdown of ''The 100 Greatest Videos Ever''. Repeats of both the special and the countdown aired throughout the Labour Day weekend. On September 27, 2014, the ''Countdown'' returned with a revamped format. On April 1, 2015, Much announced the launch of Much Digital Studios (later renamed Much Studios), a production unit and
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
multi-channel network A multi-channel network (MCN) is an organization that works with video platforms to offer assistance to channel owners in areas such as "product, programming, funding, cross-promotion, partner management, digital rights management, monetizati ...
. The network features content catered towards Much's demographic of 12-34s, and would also be integrated into their on-air programming. Such content includes the ''Mike On Much''
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
, hosted by Mike Veerman, co-produced by Arkells lead singer Max Kerman, and featuring segments led by Shane Cunningham. The podcast eventually spawned the spin-off series ''Much Studios presents "Mike on Much in Conversation With..."'', which premiered in 2018 on sibling service Crave. On August 12, 2016, Bell Media sold MuchLoud, MuchRetro, MuchVibe and Juicebox to Stingray Digital. On September 1, 2016, M3 was shut down and replaced by Gusto, which later became CTV Life Channel in 2019, a cooking and lifestyle-oriented TV network that Bell Media acquired, after the original Gusto TV closed in March 2016. In late 2017, Much further cut back on music programming, reducing its music blocks to the morning hours and removing the ''Much Countdown'' from its schedule. MuchFACT was also discontinued, as a result of the CRTC having dropped the requirement for Much to fund it. On October 11, 2017, Much premiered ''Sides*'', a new talk show which discusses youth issues; it was streamed live on
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on weekdays, and a weekly highlight show aired on the Much channel. In November 2017, Much began to air a Friday-night block known as ''Icons'', which featured airings of music documentaries. In 2019, the daytime ''Playlist'' block of music videos was discontinued and replaced with library programming, citing decreased interest and viewership. In addition, that year's MMVAs, which were moved to August the previous year, were delayed due to scheduling conflicts with the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. The ''Much Retro Lunch'' block remained the only regularly-scheduled music video programming on the channel, with the network citing its popularity among youth as a factor. The block was discontinued on March 20, 2020, and was later replaced by reruns of '' Corner Gas''. The last music video that the channel aired was " Irreplaceable" by
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
.


2021–present

On June 10, 2021, it was announced that the "MuchMusic" name would be revived for a new "digital-first" network to launch on July 7 in-partnership with
TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...
. The network would feature new "creator-driven content", including revivals of old Much programming. Meanwhile, the linear TV channel would continue with its current format and programming under the "Much" brand. The channel's early history was chronicled in a 2023 documentary film by Sean Menard, titled '' 299 Queen Street West''. The film premiered at
SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
2023, and was soon after acquired by Bell Media. The film was scheduled to premiere on January 26, 2024 on Crave, but was indefinitely pulled due to copyright issues involving the music video clips seen in the film. In October 2024,
Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office Department of the Can ...
announced commemorative postage stamps honouring MuchMusic and MusiquePlus; the stamps feature a stylized rendition of crowds outside of the networks' headquarters.


Programming

Much's main programming includes original series from Comedy Central (select shows not seen on CTV Comedy Channel) and other acquired comedies, reality shows, broadcasts of feature films, encores of shows seen on sibling networks, and reruns of other shows sourced from Bell Media's program libraries to fulfil Canadian content requirements. The network's music programming previously consisted of music video blocks seen on weekdays and the annual MuchMusic Video Awards (MMVAs), of which most of its ceremonies had been held outside the network's headquarters on 299 Queen Street West during
Father's Day Father's Day is a day set aside for honoring one's father, as well as fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. "Father's Day" complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Mother's Day and, in som ...
weekend from 2002 to 2017. The network also produced and aired several original series, both in-house productions (such as the '' MuchMusic Countdown'', ''Video on Trial'', and ''The Wedge'') and scripted series (such as '' The L.A. Complex'' and seasons 9–13 of ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'', after its move from CTV in 2010).


Relationship with MTV

Since its inception, Much has aired numerous programs acquired from
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
. Beginning in 1994, MTV's then-parent company Viacom (now as Paramount) would attempt to launch localized versions of the network through other partners; Craig Media, the parent company of the A-Channel stations in Western Canada, first launched MTV Canada and MTV2 Canada as
digital cable Digital cable is the distribution of cable television using digital data and video compression. The technology was first developed by General Instrument. By 2000, most cable companies offered digital features, eventually replacing their previo ...
networks in 2001. Due to CRTC genre protection rules, MTV Canada was forbidden from unduly competing with existing analog channels, such as MuchMusic, and its license henceforth restricted the channel to only devoting 10% of its weekly programming to "music video clips". CHUM filed a complaint with the CRTC over MTV Canada in early-2002, alleging that 60% of the schedule contained music video programming. CHUM also alleged that the licensing deal with MTV was a "bait and switch" to encroach upon MuchMusic's protected format, rather than deliver the broadly teen-based channel it had promised in the licensing process. Craig disputed the allegations as inaccurate, arguing that CHUM had incorrectly classified any programming "that has some connection to the general topic of music or music videos" (CRTC category 8a, "Music and dance other than music video programs or clips"), as counting as CRTC category 8b "music video clips" programming for the purposes of the complaint, and that it only aired two hours of purely music video-based programming per-day (accounting for 8% of weekly programming). Upon analysis of MTV Canada's programming, the CRTC ruled that music videos played within a category 8a program still counted as music video programming for the purposes of this limit, and found the network in violation of its licence for this and failure to deliver the broadly teen-based service it promised. CHUM would later acquire Craig Media and both MTV-branded channels were re-launched in June 2005; with MTV becoming a youth entertainment channel called Razer, and MTV2 becoming an interactive channel called PunchMuch. In 2006, Viacom would partner with Bell Globemedia to relaunch TalkTV as a new Canadian incarnation of MTV. The agreement also gave the company rights to air MTV programming on other sibling outlets. The original MTV was relaunched as MTV2 in 2008 before closing in 2024. MTV also closed at the end of 2024, after which airings of its current original series (such as '' The Challenge'', and '' Jersey Shore: Family Vacation'') were added to Much's schedule.


Affiliated channels

With the success of MuchMusic, several spinoff channels have been launched within Canada and around the world, including


Former

* MusiquePlus: Launched in 1986, it was developed as a
Canadian French Canadian French (, ) is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes multiple varieties, the most prominent of which is Québécois (Quebec French). Formerly ''Canadian French'' referred solely to Quebec French and the closely re ...
language version of MuchMusic. In September 2008, new owner Astral Media separated the channel from the network and introduced a new logo. In August 2019, new owner V Media Group relaunched the channel as Elle Fictions with a female-focused programming lineup. * MusiMax: A sister channel to MusiquePlus focused on adult contemporary music, and was developed as the French language version of MuchMoreMusic. In August 2016, new owner V Media Group rebranded the channel as
Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...
with an entertainment-focused programming lineup. *PunchMuch: an all-request
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
service consisting of music videos from various genres. On November 17, 2011, PunchMuch was replaced by Juicebox, a new music video channel aimed at pre-teens. Stingray Digital relaunched that channel as Stingray Juicebox in 2016. *M3: Originally known as MuchMoreMusic, this channel focused on
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
,
classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
, classic hits and even generally lighter music in addition to current pop-rock hits like its sister stations Much and
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
. In March 2009, it was relaunched as MuchMore. In 2013, it rebranded under the M3 name, marketed as an entertainment-focused "
superstation ''Superstation'' (alternatively rendered as "super station" or informally as "SuperStation") is a term in North American broadcasting that has several meanings. Commonly, a "superstation" is a form of distant signal, a broadcast television sign ...
" and a separate brand. In September 2016, the channel was relaunched Gusto on all service providers before renaming to
CTV Life Channel CTV Life Channel is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary. The channel primarily broadcasts factual and reality programming on lifestyle topics such as cooking, home imp ...
in 2019. *MuchLoud: Focuses on rock,
modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...
, alternative,
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
and
metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...
. In August 2016, new owner Stingray Digital relaunched the channel as Stingray Loud. *MuchVibe: Focuses on urban music such as
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
, R&B, and
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
. In August 2016, new owner Stingray Digital relaunched the channel as Stingray Vibe. *MuchRetro: Focuses on music videos from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Originally known as MuchMoreRetro, a spinoff of what would be known as M3, the channel rebranded on November 1, 2013, aligning itself with the Much brand. In 2016, new owner Stingray Digital relaunched the channel as Stingray Retro.


International


Current

*MuchMusic Czech: Launched in 2006, available in the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. Unlike its Canadian counterpart, it airs more music programming instead of comedy programming.


Past

*MuchMusic Latin America: Launched in September 1992, originally available only in
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, at the time of its closure distributed on several pay-TV operators in several Latin American countries. it was formerly owned by WarnerMedia Latin America from 2019 until 2022. It was owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Latin America as of April 8, 2022. Unlike its Canadian counterpart, and much like its Czech counterpart, it aired more music programming instead of comedy programming. The channel closed down in Latin America on February 29, 2024, with both Glitz and I.Sat, after which the channel space created in 1992 ceased to exist. * MuchMusic USA: Launched in 1994. Licence to use MuchMusic name and content revoked, and rebranded as Fuse in 2003. A number of MuchMusic programs were broadcast on this channel in an agreement between the two networks, which share certain programs at times. These included '' The Wedge'', ''Video on Trial'' (both Canadian, and a US version) as well as the
MuchMusic Video Awards The iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards were an annual awards show broadcast annually on Much (TV channel), Much from 1990 to 2018, and Fuse (TV channel), Fuse from 2010 to 2013 that honoured the year's best music videos. Originally debuting in ...
. * MuchMusic Brasil: Launched in 2000. The channel was aided by its Latin American counterpart and had limited terrestrial coverage during its brief existence. Ceased broadcasting in 2001. *MuchMusic also had a programming block on
MTV3 MTV3 (, ) is a Finnish commercial television channel owned and operated by the media company MTV Oy, originally launched on 13 August 1957 as a programming block, becoming its own channel on 1 January 1993. It had the biggest audience share ...
in
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
called '' JYRKI''.


Much personalities


VJs (1984–2014)

Several individuals have served as MuchMusic's on-air hosts, or video jockeys ("VJs"). A number of notable Canadian and American television personalities either began their careers at MuchMusic or spent time there. Among these are J.D. Roberts who, under the name John Roberts, is a national correspondent for
Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
; Christopher Ward, a noted songwriter and producer who collaborated musically with
Mike Myers Michael John Myers, (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. His accolades include seven MTV Movie & TV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood W ...
on the ''
Austin Powers ''Austin Powers'' is a series of American satirical spy comedy films created by Mike Myers, who stars as the British spy Austin Powers as well as his arch-nemesis, Dr. Evil. The series consists of '' International Man of Mystery'' (1997), ' ...
'' movies; Sook-Yin Lee, now a noted
CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
host and actress; Terry David Mulligan, a prolific film and TV character actor; actress Amanda Walsh; Erica Ehm, who became a noted songwriter after leaving Much; and George Stroumboulopoulos, who became a television personality on CBC, U.S. network CNN and
Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language Discretionary service, discretionary sports broadcasting, sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture betw ...
.


Former

* Steve Anthony *Matte Babel * Glen Baxter * Jeanne Beker * Laurie Brown * Rick Campanelli * Kim Clarke Champniss * Lance Chilton * Tim Deegan * Monika Deol * Angela Dohrmann * Denise Donlon *Phoebe Dykstra * Ed the Sock * Tyrone "T-Rex" Edwards * Erica Ehm (Erica Miechowsky) *Simon Evans *
Rainbow Sun Francks Rainbow Sun Francks (born 3 December 1979) is a Canadian actor known for his role as Lt. Aiden Ford in the television show ''Stargate Atlantis'', and his recurring roles on ''The Listener'', ''The Umbrella Academy'' and ''High Fidelity''. Ea ...
* Diego Fuentes * Dan Gallagher * Jesse Giddings *Craig F. Halket * Jennifer Hollett * Bradford How * Mary "Nam" Kiwanuka * George Lagogianes * Avi Lewis * Sook-Yin Lee *Patrick Lima * Ziggy Lorenc *Catherine McClenahan (first female VJ) * Leah Miller * Terry David Mulligan * Nardwuar the Human Serviette * Rachel Perry * Juliette Powell * Nadine Ramkisson * Natalie Richard * Daniel Richler * J.D. Roberts * Teresa Roncon * Hannah Simone * Devon Soltendieck * George Stroumboulopoulos * Sarah Taylor * Lauren Toyota * Liz Trinnear * Amanda Walsh * Christopher Ward * Matt Wells * Bill Welychka * Jana Lynne White * Chloe Wilde *Scott Willats * Michael Williams * Byron Wong * Tony "Master T" Young Some of the former Much VJs have moved onto other opportunities within Bell Media's entertainment brands like etalk and E!, but occasionally return for special Much events like the annual ''iHeartRadio Video Awards''.


VJ Search

Every few years, when new
video jockey A video jockey (abbreviated VJ or sometimes veejay) is an announcer or host who introduces music videos and live performances on commercial music television channels such as MTV, VH1, Much (TV channel), MuchMusic and Channel V. Origins The term " ...
s were needed, Much ran a " VJ Search" to pick one new VJ to join the channel. They would usually visit cities across Canada and pick people who appear to show potential through their audition. In earlier years, the VJ Search was usually a two-part show, but in 2006 it evolved into its own reality series called '' MuchMusic VJ Search''. As a result of that series, Tim Deegan was chosen as a VJ. It was followed in 2009 by ''VJ 2.0'', where the winner Liz Trinnear was also picked to join the channel. The final search, ''Much VJ Search'', which Chloe Wilde won in 2013.


Much Creators (2015–2021)

With the launch of ''Much Digital Studios'' in April 2015, Much "Creators" were selected social media personalities, mostly established and emerging Canadian YouTubers. The first ever Fan Fave Much Creator award was won by YouTwoTV during the 2017 iHeartRadio MMVAs. Much Creators was discontinued on July 7, 2021.


Former

*Mila Victoria *SickickMusic *Ron Dias TV *AllegraLouise *AmandaRachlee *Letitia Kiu *Chelsi Madonna *SidePonyNation *Rosette Luve *Top 5 Unknowns * Jus Reign *4YallEntertainment *Michael Rizzi *The Danocracy *Alayna Joy * YouTwoTV *ThatDudeMcFly *Karli Woods *Istiana Bestari *Wahlid Mohammad *Melissa Merk *Tasha Leelyn *Deejdesign *SneakerTalk *Jaclyn Forbes *Candace Leca *Karina V *RealisticallySaying *Zak Longo *Moving Mind Studio *Dylan Zhang *Fateh Doe *Bongo *Andrew Quo *Joey Kidney *Alex Duckworth *Naomi Leanage *Matt O'Brien *The Baker Twins *Camille Co *Bianca Harris * Tyler Shaw *Shane Cunningham * Dan Talevski *Rayn Magic *Laurier Lachance


See also

* Countdown (MuchMusic) *MusiquePlus (now known as Elle Fictions) * Fromage


References


Further reading

*


External links

* {{Coord, 43, 38, 59, N, 79, 23, 26, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark, display=title Bell Media networks Music television channels Music video networks in Canada Television channels and stations established in 1984 1984 in Canadian music English-language television stations in Canada 1984 establishments in Canada Men's interest channels