Sky have announced the names of the three music channels it plans to launch later this year – Pop (playing, erm, pop), Axe (alternative) and Amp (retro). No word yet on the exact nature of these channels – or whether they’ll follow the EMAP model of back to back videos, or the MTV model of original programming.
But whatever form they take the stations are likely to have an impact on MTV before they even launch. Sky reckon having their own music channels will reduce the value carrying MTV has for their subscribers. So much so they hope to halve the fees they have to pay Viacom to broadcast the MTV and VH1 channels when their contract comes up for renewal in April. Sky versus Viacom will be quite a battle – watch this space.