The Tube Music Network Makes Its Big Apple Debut

The Tube Music Network will make its Big Apple debut Thursday as a digital-multicast channel on WPIX-TV, the flagship of The WB, with a larger rollout expected by midsummer on cable systems throughout the New York metro area, officials said Wednesday.

WPIX -- known as WB11 and owned by Tribune Broadcasting -- will carry The Tube on channel 11.2.

MTV veteran Les Garland, The Tube’s CEO, called the launch on WPIX in New York a milestone for the three-year-old multicast network.“We’ve been amassing momentum since we launched in Los Angeles earlier this month, and we’ll continue to fuel it as we roll out the network in Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas and other markets this summer, eventually broadcasting The Tube Music Network in nine of the top-10-DMA markets on Tribune stations and 71 of the nation’s top 100 markets counting the stations owned by Tribune, Raycom Media [inc.] and Sinclair Broadcast Group [inc.],” Garland said in a prepared statement.

Initially, viewers will need digital tuners to pick up The Tube’s free over-the-air multicast signal in New York. But WPIX is in negotiations with cable operators in the metro area to secure carriage for The Tube, getting the digital network channel slots on local cable systems, a spokeswoman for the TV station said. The Tube expects to be on cable lineups in New York by midsummer.

Tribune’s KTLA is carrying The Tube in Los Angeles, while the broadcaster’s WGN station in Chicago will soon start multicasting it.

The Tube’s play list includes major- and independent-label videos, as well as exclusive performance clips. In a departure from the way music has traditionally been presented on television, classic performances from legendary artists are featured alongside just-released videos by current artists. Live and conceptual clips from Led Zeppelin, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, U2 and The Eagles are mixed with videos from today’s best-selling acts like James Blunt, Sheryl Crow and Coldplay.

Garland served as a cofounder and originator of both MTV and VH1. In the 1990s, he played an essential role in the domestic and international launch of interactive music channel The Box, acting as senior executive vice president.

Source: multichannel.com