Much

Much
Founded	September 1, 1984
President
Company	Bell Media
Notable Series	Degrassi: The Next Generation
Former Names	MuchMusic (1984–2013)

Much (formerly MuchMusic) is a Canadian Category A specialty network owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc.. Much is dedicated to pop culture with strong comedy programming. Prior to its purchase by Bell, it was primarily a music video channel.

History

MuchMusic was licensed on April 2, 1984 by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to CHUM Limited. Shortly after, the network was launched on August 31, 1984 as one of the first Canadian cable specialty networks. Headed by network founders John Martin and Moses Znaimer, the first music video that the network played was "an early music-to-film synchronization short from the 1920s that featured Eubie Blake performing Snappy Songs", and the first video made specifically for TV airplay was "The Enemy Within", performed by Rush.

MuchMusic had made use of CHUM's facilities and production teams, which resulted in the production of many specialty musical and variety shows, including the long-running dance show Electric Circus and the game show Test Pattern. The network also adopted some programs that were originally created for CHUM, such as City Limits.

Every August (formerly on Fathers' Day prior to 2018), Much airs its annual music awards show called the iHeartRadio MMVAs (formerly the MuchMusic Video Awards), which is promoted and anticipated for weeks before the big night.

The Sale to CTV

In July 2006, Bell Globemedia (which was later renamed to CTVglobemedia) announced its purchase to CHUM for an estimated $1.7 million CAD, including MuchMusic. The sale was subject to CRTC approval and was approved in June of 2007, with the transaction completed on the 22nd, while each of the Citytv stations were being sold to Rogers Media the same year. Since the sale, Much has increased the number of non-music related shows on its schedule.

In-Depth

• Program Listing: A complete list of shows that aired on Much.

External Sites

• Official website for Much