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A new 24-hour music video channel for Houston?


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I was catching up on my e-mail and came across a press release for a TV station in Denver which is going to start carrying a 24-hour music video station called The Tube Music Network on one of its digital subchannels. That's no big whoop for Houston, until I noticed at the bottom of the release it said that all of the stations owned by this company are going to start carrying it as well.

I checked, and yep the company's LA station already has it on. And since this company owns 39 in Houston, I would expect it to appear on there soon. So those of you with an HDTV, keep an eye on channel 38.2 and let us know when it comes on.

They have an interesting demo online: http://www.thetubetv.com/reel.html

I like the slogan, "Think of it as music television, but with music."

It looks like the target audience is late 20's and 30-somethings who grew up when there actually was music on MTV and VH1.

Maybe it's time to get that HDTV tuner for my laptop I've been thinking about.

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A music channel for music videos sounds like it could be a good idea. That's how MTV started out.

It would actually be somewhat of a revival. In Houston there was briefly a local broadcast version of MTV that showed music videos. If I'm not mistaken they broadcast out of the Wells Fargo (Allied Bank) building downtown.

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A music channel for music videos sounds like it could be a good idea. That's how MTV started out.

It would actually be somewhat of a revival. In Houston there was briefly a local broadcast version of MTV that showed music videos. If I'm not mistaken they broadcast out of the Wells Fargo (Allied Bank) building downtown.

There was a local muic video channel around in 1984/85 or so. I remember how poor the reception was and how often they played Ratt's "Round n Round." It was like they had the rights to 100 vidoes and played those all the time. It never lasted for many reasons, but most likely because it blew.

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There was a local muic video channel around in 1984/85 or so. I remember how poor the reception was and how often they played Ratt's "Round n Round." It was like they had the rights to 100 vidoes and played those all the time. It never lasted for many reasons, but most likely because it blew.

Sounds like you and I had similar viewing in different cities. Right around that time I was watching channel 68, WWHT/Newark, New Jersey doing 24-hour videos as "U-68." I can still remember the jingle. It was the summer when the Cars song "Magic" was big. The station lasted until 1987 when it went home shopping. Now it's running Mexican prorgamming.

MTV was never over-the-air. It started out on cable. But because there are so many TV signals in Manhattan, it was decades before New York got cable. So in order to watch their own channel, the early MTV staff went to a bar in Hoboken to see it.

I think it's a good move. The market for that content is wide open right now. With iPods and satellite radio and such, there's a resurgence in interest in music. And it's not like MTV is going to start playing videos again.

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Houston had a national cable channel for music videos that competed with MTV at the time. It was called Hit Video USA, and yes it was inside the Wells Fargo Building. Just imagine what it would be like if they were still there. Houston could have had its own TRL type show.

Check out the link to this thread I created a few years back: http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...p?showtopic=336

HitVideoOffice.jpg

Edited by citykid09
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and Depeche Mode's People Are People.

I thougt they were out of Alvin and also became Home Shopping...

I remember them wearing out Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round (like a record, baby) :D

and the Power Station's version of Get it on (Bang a Gong)

Didn't they also broadcast all of Live Aid, too? I know I watched a bunch of it on some fuzzy channel. Channel 39 is the only other station I remember having a poor signal.

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So those of you with an HDTV, keep an eye on channel 38.2 and let us know when it comes on.

I noticed last weekend that TW added Channel 305 (WB HD). looked to be the same programming that's on channel 5 (WB 39), just upconverted to digital, like TNT does. I'll have to take another look.

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The 24hr music video channel in Houston was on Channel 5 :) :) :) :) way back in the 1980's

The reason I remember it was that a girl I knew at the time was a big Madonna-wanna-be who was always going on about how great she was. So I finally happened to see a Madonna music video on that station, and I remember thinking, "Oh so that's Madonna. What's the big deal? She's not talented - she'll never last."

OK, so I called it wrong. :lol:

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The reason I remember it was that a girl I knew at the time was a big Madonna-wanna-be who was always going on about how great she was. So I finally happened to see a Madonna music video on that station, and I remember thinking, "Oh so that's Madonna. What's the big deal? She's not talented - she'll never last."

OK, so I called it wrong. :lol:

I said the same thing about U2 to an ex-girlfriend. Oops!

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I remember them wearing out Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round (like a record, baby) :D

and the Power Station's version of Get it on (Bang a Gong)

Didn't they also broadcast all of Live Aid, too? I know I watched a bunch of it on some fuzzy channel. Channel 39 is the only other station I remember having a poor signal.

I remember watching that too. Apparently there is a 5 DVD set on Live Aid that is pretty cool. If you are a fan of that era it is suppose to be a pretty nostalgic watch. They have it on Netflix. I just put it in my Queue.

Live Aid

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  • 2 weeks later...
wow. about time someone remembers channel 5. i've been searching hi and low for about 10yrs for any live tapingings, archaives, clips or whatever media is availabel. if you know of such media please contact me at djsoss@juno.com or www.freewebs.com/djsoss

May I ask why you are looking for this. Not trying to be argumentative, but my recollection of Channel 5 was that is was pretty weak. I would be interesting in hearing why you are interested. Hell, if you get something let us know I would take a gander at some of that. :D

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May I ask why you are looking for this. Not trying to be argumentative, but my recollection of Channel 5 was that is was pretty weak. I would be interesting in hearing why you are interested. Hell, if you get something let us know I would take a gander at some of that. :D

Well the reason is that i like collecting retro stuff. i love the 80's and channel 5 , to me is part of the 80's.

it was pretty okay, i mean what type of reseption did you expect for 80's technologhy. if i do happen to find some of that stuff i'll be sure to let you guys know. thanks :)

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here is a link to some inof on hit video usa.

http://www.austin360.com/music/content/mus...6/02/5metv.html

i got this link for the guys over at the newwave out post. i'm still searching for archives. i'll let you guys know with my progress.

djsamoldschoolsinister2004.jpg

www.freewebs.com/djsoss

Edited by D.J. SAM OLD SCHOOL SINISTER
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here is a link to some inof on hit video usa.

http://www.austin360.com/music/content/mus...6/02/5metv.html

i got this link for the guys over at the newwave out post. i'm still searching for archives. i'll let you guys know with my progress.

djsamoldschoolsinister2004.jpg

www.freewebs.com/djsoss

here is another link about the guy who was the producer for hit video usa.

http://www.muscience.net/interview.html

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  • 1 year later...
here is another link about the guy who was the producer for hit video usa.

http://www.muscience.net/interview.html

This is Sam again; boy it has been hard to find this stuff; plus the links here that I posted way back don't exsist. My tracks have gotten cold and there seems to be nothing in exsistance of the old TV station. If your a D.J. or a 80's fan and have any leads or ideas, I would love to here them. For now you can visit my web page at http://migente.com/djsoss. see you soon.

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wow. about time someone remembers channel 5. i've been searching hi and low for about 10yrs for any live tapingings, archaives, clips or whatever media is availabel. if you know of such media please contact me at djsoss@juno.com or www.freewebs.com/djsoss

I rememeber it quite well. It premired in July of '85 and only lasted about a year as I recall. It was called "TV5" For a 12 year-old without cable like me it was great to finally see what my friends were talking about with MTV.

This was the 2nd "new" TV station I remember. The first was "20 Vision" in 1984. The main thing they broadcast each evening was "Hawaii Five-0" reruns!

Sometime thereafter Channel 67 started up...but soon replaced its lineup with the "Home Shopping Channel."

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  • 2 years later...

todd duplantis now of channel 26 news was one of the vj's

Yeah, but back then he called himself Todd Stephens (or Stevens). TV 5 (Hit Video USA) was great in that, because MTV had these (possibly illegal) exclusivity deals on music videos with some of the record companies, TV 5 would show some of the lesser known videos and artist who were making very good music.

Stations like this existed back when local stations actually had a local "flavor and personality".

I think Todd's in Beaumont now, but I'm not sure.

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I rememeber it quite well. It premired in July of '85 and only lasted about a year as I recall. It was called "TV5" For a 12 year-old without cable like me it was great to finally see what my friends were talking about with MTV.

This was the 2nd "new" TV station I remember. The first was "20 Vision" in 1984. The main thing they broadcast each evening was "Hawaii Five-0" reruns!

Sometime thereafter Channel 67 started up...but soon replaced its lineup with the "Home Shopping Channel."

Yep, it was called TV5 and they broadcast from Allied Bank Plaza. It was before 1985, though. I can remember the console TV I watched it on, with TUBES! :o

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God, Channel 5 was frustrating. We didn't have cable and (except for Friday Night Videos) it was the only way I got to see music videos - but the reception was so terrible it made it difficult to watch. For some reason, I was obsessed with trying to catch ABC's "How to Be A Millionaire" video. When it would come on, it was a blizzard of snow and v-hold problems. gah.

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Yep, it was called TV5 and they broadcast from Allied Bank Plaza. It was before 1985, though. I can remember the console TV I watched it on, with TUBES! :o

I believe TV5 signed on July 1st 1985 and it ran until 1992.

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So has anyone been watching THETUBE on 39-2?  So far some pretty good artists.  journey, robert palmer, prince, eagles, stevie nicks, sheryl crow,  etc.

I remember 39-2, The Tube. It went off the air in 2007. I do remember Channel 5 being a music video channel. The signal was not that great though. 

Edited by Ptarmigan
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