| MuchMore | |
|---|---|
| MuchMore logo | |
| Launched | October 5, 1998 |
| Owned by | Bell Media |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Country | Canada |
| Broadcast area | National |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Formerly called | MuchMoreMusic (1998 - 2009) |
| Sister channel(s) | MuchMusic MuchMoreRetro MuchVibe MuchLOUD Juicebox MTV MTV2 |
| Website | MuchMore |
| Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| Bell TV | Channel 571 |
| Shaw Direct | Channel 581 |
| Cable | |
| Available on most Canadian cable systems | Check local listings, channels may vary |
| IPTV | |
| Bell Aliant TV | Channel 217 |
| Bell Fibe TV | Channel 571 |
| MTS | Channel 117 |
| Optik TV | Channel 256 |
| SaskTel | Channel 13 |
MuchMore (formerly known as MuchMoreMusic) is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media, based at 299 Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario.
MuchMore is devoted to music, music-related programming and pop culture, with its music programming focusing more on adult contemporary music, classic rock, and lighter music than its sister station, MuchMusic. Its programming consists of music videos, films, concerts, reality TV and pop culture shows, including a number of titles licensed from the American channel VH1.
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In June 1993, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) began accepting applications to licence new Canadian specialty channels[1] for the first time since 1987.[2] On August 31, 1993, MuchMusic and CITY-TV co-founder Moses Znaimer announced on-air the proposal by CHUM Limited to launch a specialty channel called MuchMoreMusic as an adult music/lifestyle channel, quoted as offering music more "familiar, tuneful, [and] melodic" for an audience who "could do with a little less rock and rap and metal".[3] This followed CHUM's earlier application for MuchCountry, a country music channel. "Melodic pop, soft rock, jazz, soul and blues" were to be some of the genres played by MMM; according to MuchMusic, the new channel would be able to provide such music to the "sizable" portion of its existing audience who enjoyed such softer music but could not find it reliably on MuchMusic.[4]
At a subsequent February 1994 public hearing, the CRTC reviewed a total of seven applications for music channels, comprising five country music channels, MuchMoreMusic, and CHUM's MusiquExtra, which was to be a French-language adult contemporary counterpart.[5] In a Canadian Press article, commissioner Adrian Burns noted concerns with giving one operator control of multiple music channels; Znaimer, meanwhile, claimed that there was no room for more than one operator of music channels in Canada.[4] In June, the MuchMoreMusic application was denied by the Commission, as well as the MuchCountry and MusiquExtra proposals;[1] out of the seven, the only application approved was Maclean-Hunter and Rawlco Communications' The Country Network, which has since become CMT.[2] Subsequently, the CRTC was criticized for passing only 10 of the 48 total applications.[6]
Then, in January 1996, the next round of licensing began, drawing another 44 applications; CHUM submitted nine of these, including MuchMoreMusic and the French-language adult contemporary channel, now called MusiMax (formerly MusicMax).[7] The new application, delivered by MuchMusic programmer Denise Donlon on May 8, 1996, incorporated video testimonials by a number of Canadian musicians, including Anne Murray, Bruce Cockburn, Burton Cummings, Celine Dion, David Foster, Lawrence Gowan, Dan Hill, and Marc Jordan, attesting to the need for the channel; Donlon conceded, in a Canadian Press article, that a number of Canadian musicians were no longer filming music videos because MuchMusic was not able to accommodate every music genre equally.[8] On the same day, CHUM also made pitches for Canadian Learning Television and Computer Access, a later rejected computer education channel.[9]
MuchMoreMusic was licensed by the CRTC in 1996 (as well as some of CHUM's other proposals rejected in 1994, including CablePulse24, Space, and Musimax) and was launched on October 5, 1998 under the ownership of CHUM Limited.
In April 2000, full-time staff and programming was expanded, including daytime "information segments". Studio space, at 299 Queen Street West, was shared with MuchMusic until May 2000, when it was moved to the fourth floor.[10]
On June 22, 2007, CTVglobemedia gained control of MuchMoreMusic as a result of a takeover of CHUM Limited.
On March 31, 2009, MuchMoreMusic was re-launched with a new on-air format and subsequently became known as MuchMore. The change-over took effect at 6:00 a.m. EST with the first edition of the newly branded morning video flow series Juiced!
Ownership changed hands once again, when Bell Canada gained 100% control of CTVglobemedia's assets including MuchMore it did not already own, on April 1, 2011, CTVglobemedia was replaced by Bell Media.
MuchMore does not use the same VJ format as MuchMusic, but does air some hosted programming, and also uses audio-only voiceover announcements of upcoming videos and during programs.
In January 1999, The Globe and Mail critic John Doyle commented on the channel's invariant hosting at the time: "It appears to be staffed by one person only, Jana Lynne White. The woman does everything -- interviews, running down the appalling video chart, promos, everything except come to your house and turn on the TV for you."[11] The channel's early lineup also included the MuchMusic program ClipTrip, transferred to MuchMoreMusic, along with its host Diego Fuentes, the winner of MuchMusic's 1995 VJ search. In May 2000, Bill Welychka also transferred from MuchMusic,[10] to host Freshly Pressed and later The Loop.
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