Are You Watching Coldplay On The Tube?

South Florida couch potatoes can spend the last sizzling weeks of summer glued to the Tube.

The Tube Music Network, a music channel created by MTV co-founder Les Garland, launched Tuesday in Broward and Miami-Dade counties as an alternate to MTV. The Tube has been offered in Palm Beach County for more than a year.

The Tube showcases music -- period. Coldplay's melodies and Norah Jones' purrs are uninterrupted by VJs, dating games or award shows, which have become MTV staples. Advertising totals six minutes per hour. "This is music television that's unique and special, focusing exclusively on music itself and playing music videos," said Rich Engberg, vice president and general manager for WBZL-TV 39, the Miami-based station that transmits the Tube.

Tube President Garland has been at the forefront of music video programming for decades. He co-founded MTV, VH1 and later The Box, an interactive music channel that became MTV2. Tube's headquarters are in Fort Lauderdale. The network is owned by Tube Media Corp., formally called AGU Entertainment Corp.

In April 2005, the music video channel signed an agreement with Raycom Media to transmit a Tube signal to several of its stations, including WFLX-TV 29 in West Palm Beach. In March 2006, the Tube teamed with the broadcasting division of Tribune Co., owner of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The deal allowed the Tube to broadcast in several major markets, including Miami. The Tube first aired on Tribune airwaves May 8 in Los Angeles.

In upcoming months, the Tube will launch an e-commerce site where viewers can buy DVDs, CDs, concert tickets and memorabilia.

Since its West Palm Beach launch, the station has received "enormous response" from viewers, said WFXL-Fox 29 General Manager John Spinola. Spinola said Tuesday's launch of the station will increase overall viewership of the Tube.

"This is a product that's always going to have a good niche," Spinola said.

"You're going to get a younger audience to come to it and ... you're going to get most people who grew up with MTV. They're going to see some of the things they originally saw," he said.

Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com