Music Feed

''AMTV'' (formerly known as ''Music Feed'', sometimes known as ''AMTV's Music Feed'') is a television programming block on MTV in the United States that first aired unofficially as a sneak preview on March 26, 2009, and launched officially on March 30, 2009. It was originally the network's primary source of music video programming, but is now a general programming block. ''AMTV'' and ''AMTV2'' were removed from MTV's lineup in 2017, but the AMTV logo remains in use during early morning general programming. For ratings purposes, the block is marketed as a separate network from MTV.

History

As Music Feed (2009–2017)

Background

''AMTV'' signaled the newest return of music programming on MTV. The channel had gone without any music video programming during the first few months of 2009, after it ceased broadcasting ''FNMTV'', a similar Friday night themed block that composed of short clips of music videos. The cancellation of MTV's flagship music program, ''Total Request Live'', in November 2008 was also seen as the end of an era for MTV, leading critics to insist MTV's music brand is "irrelevant" and to conclude that the Internet has replaced television as the preferred medium for watching music videos.

Format overview

''AMTV'' initially combined music videos with news updates, interviews, and live music performances. It featured many full-length music videos, including some older videos, in a segment called "Throwback". During the program, the channel promoted related features on its music-based web site, MTVMusic.com.

MTV resurrected its ''Unplugged'' series by airing individual acoustic performances during prime time hours, then placing the full episode on MTV.com and also playing many of the performances during ''AMTV'' over the next few days. MTV has also referred to the program as a "laboratory for advertising partnerships," meaning that an individual company could be the sole sponsor of the program on specific mornings, inserting its brand into the program in ways other than traditional TV commercials.

As of August 18, 2009, ''AMTV'' began airing weather. At some point, ''AMTV'' added a top 10 countdown that started to air in the 8 a.m. ET hour. The countdown ceased sometime in December 2009 but returned in its new 7 a.m. ET time slot on January 6, 2010.

AMTV's schedule changed a number of times throughout 2012 and more recently ended at 8 a.m. ET and excluded Monday airings. From April 16, 2012, the Monday block returned and videos went to 9 a.m. ET again.

The 8 a.m. ET hour continued to come and go since April 2012, but notably (since sometime in 2011) were the main stay playlists that made up ''AMTV''. These playlists were the most common on ''AMTV'' and each lasted an hour without any specific order in which they aired: ''Clubland'', ''Fiercest Females'', ''Killer Collaborations'', ''Sucker Free Playlist'', ''Morning Jams'', ''Wake & Shake''. Specialty playlists appeared from time to time to support upcoming programming such as new programming and upcoming award shows.

As of January 2013, the order of programming on ''AMTV'' was as follows: 3 a.m. ET ''Clubland'', 4 a.m. ''Rise & Grind'', 5 a.m. ''Killer Collaborations'', 6 a.m. ''MTV Jams'', 7 & 8 a.m., ''Wake & Shake''. The 8 a.m. ET hour of the block also aired specialty playlists on occasion.

MTV changed the airtime and length of ''AMTV'' frequently as 2013 progressed, announced only through their schedule. Airing of ''AMTV'' began to exclude Mondays and Tuesdays at this point, and as of September 16, 2013, all ''AMTV'' blocks were now sub-titled as "Buzzworthy".

Starting in late September 2013, all playlists were scheduled as "Music Feed", though the AMTV logo was still present in the block's graphics; ''Clubland'' became the only remaining separately-branded playlist.

On December 5, 2016, ''Music Feed'' went on a hiatus which lasted until March 7, 2017. Following its return, the program saw a major readjustment as the running time was decreased to only one hour. During this time, ''Music Feed'' aired in an early morning timeslot Tuesday through Friday, alternating between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. ET each day. This format lasted until April 21, 2017, when ''Music Feed'' was ultimately removed from MTV's morning lineup.

Since the cancellation of AMTV as a programming block, the AMTV logo remains as an on-screen bug for all MTV programming airing between 3 a.m. and 11 a.m. ET/PT; as of late May 2020, music programming remained on the network through ''Fresh Out Live'', an eight-minute interstitial which aired on Fridays at 5 p.m. ET/PT, and the program ''Fresh Out Playlist'', which began on February 8, 2020, and aired on Saturday mornings at 8 a.m. ET/PT; the AMTV bug could be seen during ''Fresh Out Playlist'' due to its timeslot. Currently, scheduled music video programming on MTV is limited to one hour per week: Mondays at 3 a.m.

Programming blocks

* ''Clubland''
* ''Fiercest Females''
* ''Killer Collaborations''
* ''Morning Jams''
* ''MTV Jams''
* ''Music Feed''
* ''New Music Monday''
* ''Rise & Grind''
* ''Sucker Free Playlist''
* ''Throwback Thursday''
* ''Wake & Shake''
* ''Woman Crush Wednesday''

''AMTV2''

Sister network MTV2 debuted a similar program known as ''"AMTV2"''. ''AMTV2'' first ran from 3 a.m. – 9 a.m. Mondays - Thursdays. In the 8 a.m. hour, ''AMTV2'' previously ran a top 10 countdown much like ''AMTV'' does in the 7 a.m. hour. These videos were limited to hip hop and rock genres.

As of March 16, 2010, encore episodes of '' Sucker Free Daily'' aired at 8:30 a.m. ET/PT, ending the top 10 countdown for that week. The top 10 has not returned in the final hour (8 a.m. ET/PT) after ''Sucker Free Daily'' was moved to 7:30 a.m. ET/PT.

As of the week of January 17, 2011, ''AMTV2'' ended at 7:30 a.m. ET/PT and no longer resumed at 8 a.m. ET/PT after ''Sucker Free Daily''. The 8 a.m. hour was sometimes used to air music specials such as ''Unplugged'', ''World Stage'', or other music related series.

At some point in early 2011, ''AMTV2''s graphics changed to reflect the new name ''Morning Music Buzz'', though the ''AMTV2'' graphic "bug" remains on the screen.

On February 12, 2012, ''AMTV2'' aired Sunday from 8 a.m. – 9 a.m., its only weekend airing. The hour block was dedicated to Whitney Houston videos, which came a day after the news broke of her sudden death. Earlier in the morning on February 12, 2012, from 2 a.m. – 3 a.m. ET, an hour-long music block of Whitney Houston videos aired as well, which cut into the first hour of a re-airing of the film ''Bride of Chucky''.

During its final years of broadcast, ''AMTV2'' aired on weekday mornings from 4 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET/PT. ''AMTV2'' was removed from MTV2's morning lineup on November 6, 2017. The last music video to be aired on ''AMTV2'' was "Feelings" by Hayley Kiyoko.

See also

*List of programs broadcast by MTV

References

External links

MTV.com

{{Music based programs on MTV

2009 American television series debuts
2000s American music television series
2010s American music television series
MTV original programming