MTV Tr3s
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Type | cable, television network, satellite television network, broadcast television network |
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| Country | United States |
| Availability | National |
| Owner | MTV Networks (Viacom) |
| Launch date | September 25, 2006 |
| Past names | MTV en Español (1999-2006) |
| Website | www.mtv.com/mtvsites/mtvtr3s |
MTV Tr3s (tres, Spanish for the number three) is an American cable, satellite and over-the-air network that prides itself as a bi-cultural entertainment destination. It is rooted in the fusion of Latin and American music, cultures, and languages, bringing the biggest names in pop, urban, and rock music. MTV Tr3s includes lifestyle series, customized MTV music franchises, and news documentaries that celebrate Latino culture, music and artists. The channel is targeted toward Latinos as well as all other Americans aged 13-25.
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[edit] MTV en Español
When the channel originally launched as MTV en Español in 1999, its programming was like that of MTV2 in its early days, with 8-hour blocks of videos which repeated 3 times a day.
During those times, most of the videos shown were those of popular Spanish-speaking artists in the United States, including salsa, reggaeton, and hip-hop. The channel also aired some videos by Latin rock and pop artists.
Late in 2005, however, the channel's programming underwent serious changes. First, it started to broadcast music videos in English, most notably pop and hip-hop videos. During that time, the channel also began to show its own Top 20 Countdown on Saturdays and Sundays. Later on, MTV en Español would drop the 8-hour blocks of videos for a random rotation of videos for the whole day.
Later on, the channel decided to reserve a 3-hour block for the less-rotated Rock en Español videos from the past and present on MTV Latin America. The channel also broadcasted shows such as Making the Video and other shows originally broadcasted by MTV Latin America.
[edit] Acquisition of Más Música
Más Música, founded in 1998, was an American cable, satellite, and over-the-air network that aired music videos from various Latin American music styles, including salsa/cumbia, regional Mexican, and contemporary Spanish-language hits. The channel was seen as a competitor to MTV en Español.
Founded by Eduardo Caballero of Caballero Television, Mas Musica was not related to the similarly-named MuchMusic music video channel in Canada. Mas Musica carried the minimum required educational and informative and public affairs programming on weekends, and it was carried mainly on low-powered television stations throughout the United States.
In December 2005, Viacom acquired Mas Musica and ten television stations affiliated with it. The sale was completed in January 2006.
[edit] Launch of MTV Tr3s
MTV Tr3s unofficially launched on September 4, 2006, when it became available on all cable and satellite systems that previously carried MTV en Español. On September 25, 2006, MTV en Español and Mas Musica officially merged together. The first show on the newly formed channel was the premiere of Mi TRL at 4:30 p.m. ET. The MTV Tr3s logo uses an acute accent on top of the three, which replaces the e in the word tres, even though the Spanish word for three does not use an accent.
[edit] Current programming
Today, the programming schedule of MTV Tr3s is signficantly more repetitive than MTV en Español was in its last days. The channel airs shows such as Hola, My Name is MTV Tr3s, the Top 20 Countdown, Los Hits (only 2 new shows per week), Mis #1s, Sucker Free Latino (only 2 new shows per week), Latina Factor, Mi TRL, MTV Tr3spass, Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2006, Making the Video, and Diary . These programs are repeated for most of the day, which greatly reduces the amount of freeform music videos played on the channel and causes the channel to be unwatchable by those who prefer to see music videos.
[edit] Criticism
Although the channel was advertised as bilingual, the programming is predominantly English. The official site is run in English with the exception of random Spanish words inserted into sentences. An online community named Faces of MTV Tr3s is also conducted in English. The same style of language is used by the VJ's on the channel, speaking mostly in English with the exception of a few words. Programming and interviews conducted in Spanish are subtitled in English, however English programming is not subtitled in Spanish. The spelling of Spanish words are sometimes incorrectly anglicised, omitting the diacritics in words like corazón and café. The MTV Tr3s logo utilizes an accent above the three, which is supposed to represent the letter e, however the Spanish word "tres" does not have an accent. With the constant replay of music videos by non-Latino artist such as Beyoncé and Paris Hilton, the celebration of Latino culture and music is questionable.
When MTV Tr3s launched, the hosts announced that it will be simulcasting Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2006, as MTV en Español had usually done. MTV Tr3s also handed out for the first time its own Viewer's Choice Award during their U.S. simulcast of the event.
Since the week of November 13, 2006 the network has improved its programming schedule by adding Videorama which is a general mix of music videos and MixMex which is a mix of music videos by Mexican artists into their lineup more than these shows were broadcasted the weeks before as mentioned above.
