MTV2 now playing on more televisions
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 22, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 MTV2 Rock group Mudvayne, who won an MTV
Music Award, first started airing on MTV2.
By Whitney Smith
Daily Bruin Contributor
MTV2, a station committed to promoting new artists, just
increased the number of viewers who will be exposed to new
videos.
Five years ago MTV Networks launched MTV2, and just a few weeks
ago, Los Angeles residents who subscribe to Adelphia Digital Cable
gained access to the 24-hour music video channel.
“Los Angeles is one of the music capitals of the world, so
we’re excited to provide our diverse mix of great new artists
to music fans,” said MTV2 general manager David Cohn.
MTV2 appeals to a diverse demographics and features a wide
variety of music videos from breakthrough artists, such as Alicia
Keys, Pete Yorn, Alien Ant Farm and Gorillaz, as well as videos
from established performers and clips from the beginning of
MTV’s video generation.
“It wouldn’t be unusual to see the video of a
popular artist such as Michael Jackson right before a song from an
obscure rock band,” said Dan Teitscheid, director, affiliate
sales and marketing, western region, MTV Networks.
Genre shows prevent the programming from being completely random
all the time. “MTV Jams” features R&B and hip-hop
videos while rock aficionados will appreciate “MTV2
Rock.” A weekly show called “Amp” focuses on
electronic music.
The new season of “Unplugged,” a critically
acclaimed show that features a live, acoustic performance from a
well-known artist or group, is being premiered exclusively on MTV2.
The current series showcases artists from a variety of genres
including Lauryn Hill, R.E.M., Staind, Jay-Z and Incubus.
The new channel emphasizes interactive entertainment through
MTV2.com. Fans can submit requests or participate in real time
online voting. Two shows, “Control Freak” and
“Request MTV2″ allow fans to select what they want to
see.
Additionally, music fans can download songs, view videos, chat
with other fans on message boards and purchase artist merchandise
on the station’s Web site.
The interactive aspects target music fans from an Internet-savvy
generation. According to Teitscheid, MTV2’s wide selection
appeals to a diverse audience that is slightly older and more
mature than the target demographic of MTV.
“I prefer MTV2 because it airs music more often and has
more variety in the rotations,” said fourth-year applied
mathematics student Tim Hazan, an Adelphia subscriber who resides
in Westwood.
MTV2 keeps its selection of videos fresh by premiering new
videos at the top of each hour every Thursday.
The videos are hosted by New York radio DJs Chris Booker and
Steph Lova and a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, Jancee
Dunn.
MTV2 has become available to over 140,000 Los Angeles residents
due to a partnership with Adelphia, a company that provides over
2.4 million households in Southern California with entertainment
and communication services including basic and digital cable
television, high-speed Internet access, long distance telephone
service and personal paging.
“Our partnership with Adelphia will help make the channel
an even more valuable platform for the music industry,” said
Cohn.
