much see much disambiguation . much launched august 31 1984 owned by bell media picture format 1080i hdtv 2011 present 480i sdtv 1984 present 4k uhdtv 2016 present ; part time selected broadcasts slogan that much closer country canada broadcast area national headquarters toronto ontario formerly called muchmusic 1984 2013 sister channel s mtv mtv2 website www.much.com availability satellite bell tv channel 570 sd channel 1670 hd shaw direct channel 580 sd 86 586 hd cable available on most canadian cable systems check local listings channels may vary iptv bell aliant channel 220 sd channel 424 hd bell fibe tv channel 570 sd channel 1570 hd mts channel 25 sd channel 1025 hd optik tv channel 9557 sd channel 557 hd sasktel channel 12 sd channel 312 hd vmedia channel 701 hd zazeen channel 52 hd much formerly and commonly known as muchmusic is a canadian english language category a specialty channel owned by bell media . the channel first launched on august 31 1984 under the ownership of chum limited as one of the country s first ever specialty channels . upon its launch and for much of its life the network primarily aired music programming including blocks of music videos and original series focusing on musicians and artists . however in recent years especially under its current owner the channel increasingly downplayed its music programming in favor of teen dramas and comedies in so far that the channel began to phase out the name muchmusic entirely by the mid 2010 s. contents 1 history 1.1 sale to ctv 2006 present 2 logo 3 programming 3.1 controversy 3.2 relationship with mtv 4 affiliated channels 4.1 former 4.2 international 4.2.1 current 4.2.2 past 5 much hd 6 vjs 6.1 much personalities vjs 6.1.1 former 6.2 vj search 7 see also 8 references 9 further reading 10 external links history edit muchmusic was licensed on april 2 1984 by the canadian radio television and telecommunications commission crtc to chum citytv . it had faced competition from two other proposed services . one of them cmtv canadian music television was deemed not to have sufficient financial resources . the third applicant was rogers radio broadcasting . the crtc believed that the canadian market could only support one music video service and chum s proposal was chosen because of various commitments it had made and the company s expertise in music programming . 1 the station was initially patterned on city limits an overnight weekend rock music show which had aired on sister station city tv since 1983 . 2 shortly thereafter muchmusic was launched on august 31 1984 as one of the first canadian cable specialty channels . it was headed by the channel s founders john martin and moses znaimer . the first video played on muchmusic was an early music to film synchronization short from the 1920s which featured eubie blake performing snappy songs . the first video made specifically for television air play was rush s the enemy within . 3 4 making use of chum s facilities and production teams the channel produced many specialty musical and variety programs including the long running dance program electric circus and the late 1980s game show test pattern and citytv programs such as city limits and the new music also became integral parts of the muchmusic schedule . the channel s format consisted primarily of an eight hour daily block which mixed scheduled programs with vj hosted general videoflow which would then be repeated two more times to fill the 24 hour schedule . some variance from this model was seen with the late night programs city limits and too much 4 much and live specials such as intimate and interactive . muchmusic is well known for its annual music awards show that airs every father s day called the muchmusic video awards or mmvas . it is anticipated and promoted for weeks before the night of the mmvas . the muchmusic world headquarters is located on 299 queen street west in downtown toronto as seen in april 2005 . muchmusic has been credited with helping to foster a vibrant canadian music scene because of the canadian content broadcast rules which mandated native musical acts had a secure and prominent place on the channel s video schedule . citation needed as well muchmusic funds the creation of new canadian music videos through muchfact and produces the popular album series big shiny tunes and muchdance . sale to ctv 2006 present edit in july 2006 bell globemedia later renamed ctvglobemedia announced that it would purchase chum for an estimated 1.7 billion cad including muchmusic . the sale was subject to crtc approval and was approved in june 2007 5 with the transaction completed on june 22 2007 while the citytv stations were sold to rogers media that same year . since then muchmusic has aired a vast number of non music related programs . before those programs aired much mega hits was a prominent program that played various music videos based on singles . bell canada gained control of muchmusic through its takeover of ctvglobemedia on april 1 2011 in effect changing the company s name to bell media . shortly thereafter muchmusic received a new look and a new much logo while continuing to add non music television series mainly dramas and reality shows . since september 2013 the channel has been airing significantly more comedy programming targeting young adults during the late afternoon and primetime hours much of it moved from the comedy network . such shows included comedy central series such as south park tosh .0 and the jeselnik offensive reruns of the simpsons and the cleveland show as well as late night with jimmy fallon and conan . 6 7 these changes came when comedy s request for license amendments to reduce requirements for canadian content and increase the amount of animated programming it could air was denied . 8 9 most of the channel s previous non music programming such as the teen dramas pretty little liars and degrassi has moved to sister channels m3 formerly muchmoremusic and mtv respectively . 10 at the same time the channel cut back further on original music related programming apart from video on trial the wedge countdowns and other non hosted blocks of music videos with new.music.live . confirmed to have been cancelled and the likes of rapcity no longer appearing on much s schedule . by the summer of 2014 amidst production and staffing cutbacks the countdown went on hiatus and much s remaining original programs including a revamped video on trial were cancelled . 11 meanwhile in august much celebrated its 30th anniversary . 12 a half hour anniversary special 30 years of much aired on august 30 2014 and was preceded by a full day countdown of the 100 greatest videos ever . 13 14 repeats of both the special and the countdown aired throughout the labor day weekend . on september 27 2014 the countdown returned with a revamped format . in addition to the renamed much music video awards it is currently the only original music related show on the channel . 15 on april 1 2015 much announced the launch of much digital studios a multi channel network on youtube . the network features content catered towards much s demographic of 12 34s which will also be integrated into their on air programming . 16 17 logo edit logo used from 1993 to 1997 logo from 1997 to 2011 original version of the current logo used from 2011 2013 the first logo for muchmusic when it first began was a big m with muchmusic boxed in the centre of the m. the logo was slightly redesigned as a big m with a small m inside the outline with the word muchmusic below the logo . in 1997 a new logo was designed with a black and white much superimposed on a planet with longitude latitude lines on the surface . in 2010 muchmusic began to use a new simplistic multi colored logo on the channel s promos however the older logo used on air did not change until april 1 2011 when muchmusic was officially relaunched with a new look . this change coincided with the completion of bell canada s acquisition of ctvglobemedia with the company s subsequent renaming as bell media . in may 2011 the logo redesign was implemented with muchvibe . the former logo design continued to be used by muchloud until late 2012 . since late 2013 the black and white version of the current logo has been in use in place of the original version . 18 programming edit main article list of programs broadcast by much much primarily airs blocks of music videos throughout the daytime and evening hours . the remainder of its lineup is devoted to comedy and pop culture themed programming . such programming includes first run series such as comedy central programs not shown by the comedy network sitcoms encore repeats of late night talk shows and occasional broadcasts of feature films on weekends . controversy edit in recent years the popularity of muchmusic has waned and the channel faces constant criticism that it focuses too much on top 40 acts and programs that have nothing to do with music . a main point of criticism is not giving nearly enough time to smaller independent and canadian performers . 19 in 2010 ctv parent company of muchmusic was denied a request by the canadian radio television telecommunications commission crtc to reduce the percentage of music video programming that the channel shows from 50 to 25 percent . ctv s second request to the crtc to reduce and reposition its canadian programming was also denied . for the reasoning behind these requests ctv explained that music videos no longer distinguish the service as they are readily available through other sources . this was met with mixed reaction by music fans and has also drawn the ire of notable music artists . 20 21 22 23 much has also been the centre of controversy because of its leniency in censorship sometimes leaving expletives uncensored from videos played on the network in contrast to mtv often censors certain music videos for inappropriate content . however some programs due to their wider audience are edited for content . as with mtv the network also generated controversy by occasionally banning videos it deemed too racy or violent for broadcast . unlike mtv however muchmusic broadcasts the controversial videos in a series of late night specials dubbed too much 4 much along with panel discussions on their content and arguments on if it should be banned or not . however recently many of the videos are censored and even airs the mtv censored version . relationship with mtv edit muchmusic was launched in part to capitalize on the success of mtv an american cable music channel that had premiered a few years earlier . although never an affiliate much over the years would often broadcast mtv produced programming such as awards shows concerts reality series and other programs . mtv itself was not permitted in canada because of canadian radio television and telecommunications commission crtc restrictions on format protection . however no such restrictions exist in the united states where chum attempted to compete with mtv through muchusa now the unaffiliated fuse . perhaps owing to this mtv was unwilling to extend its relationship with muchmusic longer than necessary and has made two attempts to launch a competing mtv channel in canada . the first attempt began in 2001 when mtv canada now mtv2 was launched by craig media and viacom . mtv canada had an edge over muchmusic in that it was licensed by the crtc as a broadly based teen channel and could air programming from various categories and not just music related programming . in 2004 mtv canada s owners were bought by chum allowing viacom