The Tube Music Network

The Tube Music Network was a music video network carried on free-to-air satellite television, select digital television subchannels and digital cable systems. The network's president and founder was Les Garland, a veteran of MTV and VH1. The Tube was a wholly owned subsidiary of The Tube Media Corp. (OTCBB: TUBM) which was founded by David Levy in 2003, and was independent from any major media company.

The Tube aired classic and modern music videos in a format similar to the original format of Music Television (MTV) and Video Hits One (VH1). There were no reality shows, award shows, or game shows on the network—nothing more than music programming on their lineup. The network did show occasional commercials and PSAs and three hours of mandated E/I programming on Saturday mornings.

Broadcasting

It was available mostly in markets in which Raycom Media operates stations. According to a March 2006 article in The New York Times, Tribune Broadcasting announced that it would start multicasting The Tube on its DTV channels in summer 2006.[1] However, it began transmission on digital television in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The network also broadcasted on WLVI in Boston, which was purchased from Tribune by Sunbeam Television in late December 2006.

Equity Broadcasting distributed the programming free-to-air on Galaxy 10R Ku-band satellite for carriage by some of the individual LPTV operations which it owned and operated in various US cities.

Sinclair Broadcasting would join in on airing The Tube as well, announcing on March 23, 2006 that they would start multicasting the network on many of their outlets. That relationship stopped temporarily (and eventually permanently) on January 1, 2007, in a dispute involving Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirements for digital subchannels.

The FCC ruled that in addition to the main analog channels, each digital subchannel would also be required to run the government mandated the hours of E/I programming per week as well as any Emergency Alert System tests and bulletins. The Tube would air the animal-and-music program Wildlife Jams to meet the E/I requirements. Later the rules would be changed, requiring the main channel to air more E/I programming in relation on how many subchannels the station has and how much "free programming" they offer.

Suspension of operations

Per a statement at The Tube's website, the network announced that they were suspending operations, effective October 1, 2007, though some stations closed the feed earlier. According to the statement, "financial limitations ultimately contributed to its incapacitated state". Many stations carrying the station have been informed to direct viewers to their website for further information and several stations are now searching for content to replace the channel over the air and on cable systems.

Final song

The last song played on the network was A3's "Woke Up This Morning" (Chosen One Mix). The song finished exactly at midnight Eastern/11:00PM Central with a black screen. This might have been done on purpose by the network, as The Sopranos television series ended in a similar fashion. The Sopranos used the song as their opening theme for its run.

Affiliates

See also

• The Cool TV

External links

• The Tube on Myspace
• All About The Tube Unofficial Site