Cable Music Channel
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| Cable Music Channel | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Launched | October 27, 1984 |
| Closed | November 30, 1984 |
| Owned by | Turner Broadcasting Ted Turner (founder) |
| Picture format | NTSC 480i |
| Country | United States |
Cable Music Channel (CMC) was an all-music video channel created by Ted Turner and launched in 1984 by Turner Broadcasting System, providing the first national competition to MTV. Turner later stated that the channel existed at the behest of the cable industry as a defense mechanism against MTV's unsuccessful attempts to increase by twofold the fees cable systems paid to carry the channel; Turner offered the channel with no fees. [1]
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[edit] Launch
The channel was created following the success of Night Tracks, TBS' late night weekend music video block.
Turner himself began CMC's first night of programming on October 27, 1984: with a defiant "Take that, MTV!", Turner pushed a button and kicked off the channel with the Randy Newman song "I Love L.A.".
[edit] As a money losing venture
It quickly became clear, however, that CMC was losing money fast, due to an inablility to sign up cable systems (many of whom didn't have the space for another all-music channel) or secure the rights to play top videos (MTV was accused of pressuring artists not to sell to CMC, citing "exclusivity" agreements). Within a month, despite an estimated audience of 2.5 million, Turner realized the jig was up; on November 29, he decided to sell CMC to MTV for a million dollars, and MTV agreed to buy $500,000 worth of advertising on Turner's other channels, including CNN. Ironically, MTV used the channel (and its space on the Satcom satellite) to help form its new sister network, VH1, which launched on New Year's Day, 1985. In another ironic twist, Time Warner, the successor to MTV's then part-owners Warner Communications would purchase Turner's networks in 1996 (MTV by that point, was owned by Viacom, which was split in two companies in 2006 and is still owned by the new Viacom).
[edit] Sign off
Cable Music Channel officially signed off just before midnight ET on November 30, 1984; the last video aired was "Head Over Heels" by The Go-Go's, followed by a dark screen and a voice saying, "That's all from Atlanta. Karen, do you..." before the signal was cut off.
