MTV Hits (Australian and New Zealand TV channel)
MTV Hits was an Australian and New Zealand subscription music channel focused on hit music. The channel first launched in Australia in April 2007 (as The Music Factory), and later launched in New Zealand on 1 December 2011.
 | |
| Country | Australia New Zealand |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Australia New Zealand |
| Network | MTV |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) 576i (SDTV 16:9) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Paramount Networks UK & Australia |
| Sister channels | MTV Club MTV MTV 80s CMT |
| History | |
| Launched | Original 1 April 2007 (Australia) 1 December 2011 (New Zealand) Relaunch 1 July 2020 |
| Replaced | MTV Music (Relaunch) |
| Closed | Original 1 January 2014 (Australia) 1 December 2015 (New Zealand) Relaunch 1 August 2023 (Australia) September 2023 (New Zealand) |
| Former names | TMF (prior to 1 November 2010) |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Foxtel Go | Channel 801 |
| Fetch Mobi | Channel 237 |
The channel closed on 1 December 2015 to be replaced in all markets by MTV Music, but was revived 5 years later on 1 July 2020 as a rebrand of MTV Music.
History
MTV Hits Australia & Hits first launched as TMF Australia in April 2007 on the Optus Television pay TV service[1] and allowed viewers to interact with the channel via the web and mobile (3G Network) commencing on 22 June 2007. Unlike sister channel MTV, the channel only played music related programming. The channel was said to be picked up by cable TV providers Foxtel and Austar as a standalone channel soon, but was available via the interactive My MTV Service.[2][3][4]
Relaunch as MTV Hits
TMF was relaunched as MTV Hits on 1 November 2010.[4] The channel later launched in New Zealand on Sky Television on 1 December 2011.[5]
On 1 July 2011 MTV International channels launched new logos[6]
Cessation of Service in Australia
On 29 October 2013, MTV announced they had been working with Foxtel since early 2013 to offer more diversity on the Foxtel platform, as MTV Classic and MTV Hits fought for the same audience as Foxtel Networks channels MAX and [V] Hits respectively.[7] The channel to replace MTV Hits is MTV Music, the number one UK music channel, which will feature Pop, Rock, urban and alternative music.[7] Although MTV Classic and MTV Hits will no longer be available on Foxtel, they will continue to be offered by Australian IPTV service Fetch TV and New Zealand pay TV provider Sky Television.[7][8] The changes took place on 3 December 2013.[9]
On 16 December 2013, FetchTV announced via their Facebook page that as of 1 January 2014, MTV Music would replace MTV Hits on their service, as was done by Foxtel the month earlier.[10] This meant that MTV Hits would become exclusively available in New Zealand.
Closure of channel in New Zealand
On 1 December 2015, Sky Television replaced MTV Hits (and sister channel MTV Classic) with a localized version of MTV Music.[11][12] Ultimately, this resulted in the closure of the channel, as Sky was the last remaining provider of MTV Hits.
Revival
On 1 July 2020, the channel returned to Foxtel channel 801, taking the slot of Channel [V] and replacing MTV Music, alongside Fetch TV and Sky (New Zealand).[13]
On August 1, 2023, MTV Hits was replaced by the European version in Australia, sharing the same schedule but 9 hours ahead.[14][15] New Zealand retained the local version until early September.[16][17]
Programming
Current Shows (2020-2023)
- Mornings on MTV
- Best of the Week: Top 30
- Trending Right Now
- The Evolution of...
- Most Shazammed: Top 30
- After Party
- Official Global Chart
- Up Late on MTV
- Billboard Chart
- Weekend Vibes Only
- Wake Up with MTV
- Hip Hop x RnB Party
- MTV Upload
- Fresh Finds by MTV
- Local Finds by MTV
- MTV House Party
- Most Streamed Songs
- After Hours
Previous programmes
- My Pix – Music videos are played while viewers' answers to questions are shown
- Today's Most Wanted – Music played as voted by viewers on the MTV website
- U Control – Music chosen by a single viewer
- Double Play – 2 songs, of a certain artist, back-to-back are played
- MTV Hits Top 30 – The top 30 songs in the country
- 30 Biggest Tracks Right Now – The top 30 songs in the country
- 10 Biggest Tracks Right Now – The top 10 songs in the country
- Fresh Vid – Newest video by a certain artist. The artist's name is also in the title, Fresh Vid: Reece Mastin, for example
- Burst Of... – A few songs of a certain artist is played. The artist's name is also in the title, Burst Of...Timomatic, for example
- Nothing But MTV Hits – Songs played at nighttime
- Pop Hits Top 6 – The top 6 pop songs in the country
- Party Hits – Party songs
- MTV News – The news as told by MTV
- Brekkie Hits – Songs played in the early hours
- Urban Hits Top 6" – The top 6 urban songs in the country
- ...vs..." – Songs are played by two different artists, One Direction vs. Justin Bieber, for example
- MTV Download Charts – Songs played according to the download charts
- #Hits – Music videos are played out while viewers' answer to questions posted on MTV Hits' Facebook and Twitter accounts.
TMF Shows
- Study Free Zone
- Booty Beats
- Daily Downloads
- Top 6 at 6
- Eye Candy
- Snitch and Bitch
- Fresh New Ones
- TMF Top 20 Download
- TMF X2
- Top 20 Theme:
- Top 20 Australian Charts
- Top 20 Pop
- Top 20 Rock
- Top 20 Urban
- Ultimate Top 100
- Vidcast – Videos that are created by viewers on mobile phones and are aired on the show.[18]
Logos
TMF Logo used April 2007 – 1 November 2010
MTV Hits Logo used 1 November 2010 – 30 June 2011
MTV Hits Logo used 1 July 2011 – 30 September 2013
MTV Hits Logo used 1 October 2013 – 1 December 2015
MTV Hits Logo used from 1 July 2020 – 14 September 2021- MTV Hits Logo used since 14 September 2021
References
- Koremans, Sonja (25 May 2007). "MTV launches interactive multi-platform music channel". B & T Weekly. 57 (2612): 5. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
- "Viewer Vision for MTV Music Factory". The Music Network. 6 June 2007.
- "MTV to launch new channel in Australia". TheWest.com.au. 24 May 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
- "Optus TV Channels". Archived from the original on 26 June 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
- "MTV Hits Archives". Throng. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- "The Branding Source: New logos: MTV international". The Branding Source. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- Reid, Poppy (29 October 2013). "EXCLUSIVE: MTV AUSTRALIA TO LAUNCH TWO NEW CHANNELS – MTV MUSIC AND MTV DANCE". The Music Network. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- "MTV Dance and MTV Music to hit Foxtel this December!". MTV Australia. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- Knox, David (1 November 2013). "Foxtel refreshes music channels". TV Tonight. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- FetchTV (16 December 2013). "Fetch TV". Facebook. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- Sky TV (4 November 2015). "New channel alert! MTV NZ is mixing it up with the world's greatest music from the 90s to today – MTV Music launches 1 December on channel 022". Facebook. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
- "MTV Music". Sky TV. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
- "Foxtel overhauls music channels | TV Tonight".
- "MTV's Australian Closure Another Blow For Australian Music". The Music. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- https://www.mtv.com.au/tv-schedule/mtv-hits-australia
- "MTV Hits | TV Guide". sky.co.nz. 8 August 2023. Archived from the original on 8 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- "MTV Hits | TV Guide". sky.co.nz. 29 September 2023. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- "Optus asks, "Are you ready for Participation TV Australia?"". optus.com.au. 21 January 2008.