The Music Factory
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TMF (The Music Factory) is a pop music television channel that operates in the Netherlands (TMF Nederland), Belgium (TMF Vlaanderen) and the United Kingdom (and Ireland) (TMF UK). It is owned by MTV Networks Europe (part of the Viacom conglomerate). Showing only pop videos in The Netherlands and Belgium, it shows some of MTV's programmes like Cribs and Newlyweds in the UK.
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[edit] TMF Nederland
TMF Nederland was launched on May 1, 1995 as the Netherlands' only local pop station. It was founded by Lex Harding and the Arcade company. Although Dutch viewers could receive MTV Europe, many felt that the Netherlands should have its own national music television channel. The station gradually began to get better viewer figures than MTV, so in 2002, MTV bought shares in TMF. In 1996, TMF started the TMF Awards in the Netherlands. It is headquartered in Bussum.
The channel is very well known in the Netherlands and throughout some of Europe for its emphasis on dance music mixes. It is, however, perhaps infamous for the over-abundance of "text-in" shows (displaying large panels in the bottom third of the screen filled with text messages that obscure the main image).
In 2005, three new channels began broadcasting in the Netherlands under the TMF brand (all owned by MTV Networks Europe):
[edit] TMF Party
Plays techno, trance and house music.
[edit] TMF NL
Plays Dutch folk and pop music.
[edit] TMF Pure
Plays mostly soul and R&B music. Since August 1st 2006, TMF Pure has been replaced by a new MTV service: MTV Brand New (NL)
[edit] TMF Radio
Launched on December 27st 2006.
[edit] TMF Vlaanderen
TMF Vlaanderen (TMF België) was the first international extension of the TMF brand. It broadcasts entirely in the Dutch language, so it is only available in the Flanders (Vlaanderen) region of Belgium. Founded in 1998, its headquarters are in Mechelen.
[edit] TMF UK
TMF UK started in 2002 as a counter against Emap's The Hits request music channel on Freeview (Digital Terrestrial Television). It broadcasts on channel 21. It also broadcasts on BSkyB's Sky (Digital Satelite Television) and Virgin Media (Digital Cable Television). The channel, alongside its music output, shows reruns of successful MTV and VH1 shows such as Cribs, Newlyweds and The Fabulous Life Of. There is also a strand of Noggin in the morning for pre-school children (Now Replaced as Nick Jr On TMF).
TMF UK is also available in some cable packages in Ireland; in Dublin it was on a shared channel with Nickelodeon, before being replaced on the basic cable service by the Paramount Comedy Channel. TMF UK still broadcasts in Dublin on digital cable.
[edit] TMF Australia
In April 2007, TMF will be launching in Australia channel 812 on digital. Before TMF launches from now to April it will show music clips. It was going to be called MTV2 Australia.[citation needed]
