JeffTheAlpaca

The Top 20 Countdown was cancelled a couple of weeks ago.

Now you can no longer watch music videos from 3am-6am on VH1.

I know the music they did play might not satisfy all tastes but some music is better than no music.

Maybe somebody should gather all of these programming executives who pulled music related programming for reality shows and place them in one room and light a switch.

Now you can watch My Wife and Kids and the Martin Lawrence show on a music channel!

http://www.rangerboard.com/showthrea...46#post5090246

Hazel Motes

I can't remember the last time I watched a music video on tv and not on youtube. Maybe its for the best.

Alan Smithee

In the 80s, MTV was the main reason why I wanted cable (and VH-1 started out as a sister channel, playing more "adult" oriented music videos.) Now, MTV is the main reason why I DON'T have cable.

Those who say "Who cares, you can still watch music videos on YouTube" are missing the point- YouTube STILL can't deliver great picture quality, especially since many videos on there are sourced from VHS tapes sometimes copied multiple generations. MTV was like turning the radio on and hearing your favorites and being introduced to new stuff as well. Why in the world would I want to pay to watch sitcom reruns instead?

stingermck

This. Youtube is where its at for videos.

Quack

How many artists still make music videos?

stingermck

A lot. At the gym, I see videos for all the current top 40 stuff.

PerryD

Everybody? Even the most obscure and small label bands have a couple music videos available by their label on YouTube.

A few years ago, I used to watch the Top 20 countdown on Sunday mornings with my younger daughter while I would make a nice breakfast, so I have some fond memories.

Sonny Corinthos

I didn't even know they still had the top 20 countdown and music videos on their network. Every time I pass by it, they have some kind of crappy reality show airing.

dvd-4-life

Why don't they have a Roku channel that shows non-stop music videos?

Josh-da-man

I thought they stopped playing music several years ago.

Maybe in ten years VH1 Classic will ditch the music videos and just play Martin re-runs and the shitty reality shows VH1 airs now.

Drexl

Doesn't that pretty much already exist in Vevo?

BTW, was this countdown the continuation of the one on MTV? I remember when they started doing a top 100 at the end of the year - it was a New Year's Eve tradition for me growing up.

Decker

Honestly, I didn't know VH1 was still a channel. What do they show now?

Jason

Music videos are still a big deal. Gangnam Style got well over a billion views on YouTube.

Jason

So they'll turn into MTV2?

Josh-da-man

Yeah, but MTV8 and VH1 Classic Classic will still play videos until they're moved to MTV9 and VH1 Classic Classic Classic, and VH1 Classic Classic will broadcast round the clock reruns of 2 Broke Girls and MTV8 will show reruns of the sequel to Teen Mom: I'm a Grandmother and I'm Not Even Thirty!

AaronHernandez

If something is still from vhs source the picture quality will still be low quality whether its on youtube or vh1.

Honestly though if you need to know what most popular songs are you could just click a button or 2 on youtubes mainpage and get a playlist of most watched recent videos that would be pretty similiar to whatever 20 songs vh1 had for their top 20 countdown.


Basically the reason for a sitcom rerun is because someone surfing their tv channels and seeing an old sitcom is more like to go "hey i remember that" and continue watching an old Martin or Boy Meets World rerun then an old Cyndi Lauper or Duran Duran video.

AaronHernandez

Who do I email or text to get MTV8 as part of my cable companies package

JeffTheAlpaca

The Top 20 Countdown would usually air every Sat at 6am. I liked it though the host Shannon Coffey was annoying.

At least for now Palladia shows Epic Awesome Videos from 3am-6am PT and FUSE has music videos at night.

I assume this is the end of the Storytellers concerts and the occasional new Behind the Music episode.

VH1 still has some brand value as a name or will they change that too?

PhantomStranger

It's been odd to see the evolution of VH1 as a channel. Originally meant to be an adult version of MTV as people got older and hit younger middle age, it then moved further and further into reality programming. At first it wasn't entirely bad, as their reality content often had a focus on music or the music industry. They even flirted with original scripted content.

Then it started slipping into the gutter with much trashier reality fare, mostly aimed at minority audiences.

The brand probably doesn't have any value left to people younger than 30, which is why they are struggling to figure out their next direction.

ddrknghtrtns

Isn't this the current story for all of cable channels right now? Even ESPN is starting to unravel. Less than a decade from now, cable will be buried and forgotten.

Barth

This. There was an article this week (I think in Entertainment Weekly, not sure) that stated all the networks, local and cable, are losing all the quality writers and show runners to the streaming folk. They were crying they couldn't get quality people. Oh boo hoo. ESPN you have been making way to much money for far to long. You are the Blockbuster of the cable system...good riddance.

As far as VH1, yes I'm disappointed, I moved over to them when MTV became some reality show network. VH1 still showed videos mostly. Now I'm left with VH1 Classic. At least they still run Metal Mania so I can get my Headbangers Ball fix. I'm sure that will start changing soon. Anybody know if That Metal Show is coming back?

Josh-da-man

In the next decade, all cable and satellite television will be are reality shows, re-runs of old sitcoms, the same fifteen shitty movies, and infomercials.

Mabuse

The people who run the network are so ignorant they doom their own shows (or it's a strategic form of suicide).

In the case of VH1's Top 20 here's what I noticed. I have my DVR set to record it every week. Back around July I noticed that new episodes were not in my queue. A search through the onscreen "Guide" revealed that they'd changed the name of the show from "VH1 Top 20 Countdown" to "The 20". Changing the name of your show so that it no longer gets recorded by your most loyal viewers is stupidity of the highest order.

Eddie W

Isn't that the case already?

TerryW

Promo films/music videos are extensions of the songs/albums they come from and I don't understand why they aren't treated with more respect and actually released on DVD/BD's with their album counterparts.

I watched MTV and Friday Night Videos all the time in the 1980's and thankfully recorded tons of videos which I still have on VHS. When VH-1 Classic started I did the same.

Hopefully with the release of all of The Beatles promo films this past year it will start a trend that record companies/labels will follow.

I'm glad that people have uploaded rare videos to YouTube but it's more for reference than a remastered disc you can throw in your player to watch with no TV logos.