Feb 24, 2016
After starting on Australian cabel network Foxtel in 1997, the television broadcast network has now announced the end of an era, with the shutting down of once-beloved Channel V.
Beginning initially as Red – when Foxtel was known as Galaxy – the channel was a core part of Australia’s festival and music culture and coverage for a long time, hosting tonnes of events and also launching the careers of many young television presenters.
Read excerpts from some leaked Foxtel correspondence, courtesy of Pedestrian. “We are making some changes to our music channels on Foxtel. Starting from this Saturday, February 27 you will begin to see some changes to Channel [V]. Following on from that, from March 25, we will no longer use the Channel [V] brand, which will change to [V] Hits and [V] Hits +2. V Hits features a line-up of music videos and countdowns, including the latest album hits from Australia and around the world. There are no changes to MAX, CMC or Smooth. Over the past several years music clips have become ubiquitous with availability on services like YouTube, whilst linear broadcast audiences for music channels have been in steady decline. In order to run the Foxtel music services more efficiently we have decided to merge Channel [V] and [V] Hits.”
It's upsetting on a nostalgic level, and for those who still service the channel with new music videos, but it's more a sign of the times than anything else. Subscription television is dying with the introduction of services like Stan and Netflix, and let's face it - nobody really watches TV to catch new music videos anymore.
The demise of Channel V’s dynamic and host-driven content was unfortunately inevitable, with all of us being able to get the same type of content almost anywhere at any time online. Many of V’s old and new hosts have shared their feelings on Twitter, which you can check below.
The sweet sounds of #CreatureComfort pic.twitter.com/rV8U2Ujzhs
— Everything Now (@EverythingNowCo) June 14, 2017
The sweet sounds of #CreatureComfort pic.twitter.com/rV8U2Ujzhs
— Everything Now (@EverythingNowCo) June 14, 2017
The sweet sounds of #CreatureComfort pic.twitter.com/rV8U2Ujzhs
— Everything Now (@EverythingNowCo) June 14, 2017
Gone, but not forgetten, many will remember Channel V as oen of the best sources for music videos, interviews, news and more as we were growing up.
Photo: Foxtel