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Fuse TV
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (October 2007) |
| Fuse TV | |
|---|---|
| Launched | October 1994 (as MuchMusic USA) |
| Owned by | Rainbow Media, a division of Cablevision |
| Website | fuse.tv |
| Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| DirecTV | Channel 339 |
| Dish Network | Channel 158 |
| Cable | |
| Available on most cable systems | Check Local Listings for channels |
Fuse is a music video-oriented television channel. Fuse has modeled itself as the premier cable channel for rock, alternative, punk, hardcore, emo, and indie music.
Contents |
The channel which eventually became Fuse began in 1994 under a partnership between current owners Rainbow Media (a division of Cablevision) and CHUM (owner of Canada's MuchMusic) The network was a complete simulcast of MuchMusic Canada for the most part except for an infomercial block during the morning hours. Muchmusic signed on in 1984 and was available on C band satellite and had a loyal following across the USA before they switched to Digital Ku band around 1992. In early 2001, non Canadian music video blocks (with MuchMusic Canada bumpers in between) began airing on the network. This was the early stages of what would later become a completely different network.
In June 2001, the network became "MMUSA" featuring both MuchMusic Canada shows, and in house produced music video programming best recognized by distinct color bars at the top and bottom of each show. Each show had a different color bar set. Many of these shows consisted of viewer submitted content from the website. As 2002 went by, the majority of MuchMusic Canada programming was removed from the network.
In late December 2002, MMUSA aired an episode of the MuchMusic Canada show Rap City. This would turn out to be the last MuchMusic Canada show aired on the network. After this aired, the network was all MMUSA programming until May 2003.
Within early 2003, CHUM revoked Rainbow Media's license to use the MuchMusic and MMUSA name and everything else having to do with it. By April, it was announced that the network would be renamed "Fuse" with various promos and scrolls.
On May 19, 2003 just before 6 a.m. Eastern Time, MMUSA aired its final video: New Found Glory's "My Friends Over You". After the video ended the network went to commercial break. After that Fuse launched with Linkin Park's "Somewhere I Belong", without fanfare.
The early days of Fuse were very music intensive. They often indirectly bashed MTV for not airing music, with ads touting Fuse as the channel "where the music went."
In late 2005, they had a week of end-to-end music videos, paid for by Snapple.
Fuse has studios headquartered across from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden in New York City. Fuse chiefly focuses on pop and rock music, and does have more alternative programming later at night.
The addition of such non-music oriented fare such as the animated program Empire Square, the anthology program Munchies, the sketch-comedy program The Nighttime Clap, have also brought recent charges by critics that the channel is abandoning its musical focus in a greater attempt to compete with MTV and MTV2. Thus no longer being "where the music went" However, as of August 2006 the network has replaced some of these shows with a bevy of new ones, mostly non-music.
Musically speaking, Fuse is more focused on rock, alternative, punk, emo, and indie music. It used to also play heavy metal music. However, as of 2006, it has been moved to the early morning hours as Fuse no longer focuses on it. Although hip-hop/rap and pop music is played, Fuse is generally an alternative to the more mainstream MTV, which focuses heavily on hip-hop. In recent years Fuse has been instrumental in helping local bands and artists reach a wider audience.
Critics and members of the original fan base feel the channel is run poorly. The channel has been criticized for going "emo" recently, as the channel now plays emo music videos regularly and endorses Victory Records. Many other critics have also criticized the changes as an attempt to compete better with MTV and MTV2 in the Nielsen ratings and feel the channel has "sold out" by sacrificing variety in order to gain more mainstream appeal. Also, during the emo music/fashion trend, many have criticized the station for being too much of a fad-based station, much as MTV was criticized for the amount of bubblegum pop played on Total Request Live in the late 1990s. Fuse has also been playing more rap and R&B music. Recently, the channel has increased the amount of non-music programming, including comedy half-hour shows and full-length movies.
At the same time, Fuse has been praised for focusing on emo as opposed to mainstream hip-hop. The rise of emo music and Fuse occurred somewhat simultaneously, and Fuse is still seen as a major catalyst for the genre.
Since Juliya Chernetsky's departure from Fuse, some viewers had started a petition to the Fuse program director, telling him/her to bring the metal shows back to Fuse. An answer has yet to be told to the viewers by the program director. Juliya recently stated that she would not return to Fuse and that the host would be another person named Julia who hosted the Girls of Ozzfest special.
Fuse uses severe audio level compression in an attempt to keep the volume at an average level. The result is that on many types of music you can hear the audio level being massively reduced following a loud section, gradually creeping back up again, then crushed down again.
Each of the VJs regularly hosts a show dedicated to their chosen music field(s) and/or their style.
- Steven Smith focuses more on punk rock, indie rock, and alternative music. He currently hosts Steven's Untitled Rock Show and co-hosts The Sauce with Holly Hannula.
- Henry Rollins hosts the "Henry Rollins Show" where he discusses music and pop culture.
- Jared Cotter from American Idol also co-hosts The Sauce with Steven and Holly.
Past VJs include:
- Adonis Thompson, Fuse's VJ search contest winner.
- K.K. Holiday.
- Dennis "da Menace".
- Juliya Chernetsky (also known as Juliya or Mistress Juliya), the channel's heavy metal representative. She hosted the programs Uranium, Metal Asylum, and Slave to the Metal, and co-hosted All-Nighter with Marianela.
- Dylan Lane, who focused on pop music. He co-hosted Daily Download with Marianela and also hosted The F-List.
- Marianela was the "rap/hip-hop" representative. She co-hosted both IMX and its successor, Daily Download. After Daily Download's cancellation at the end of July 2006, she briefly was a host on Get Malled Tour. However, Get Malled Tour disappeared from the air in late August/early September 2006. Marianela no longer works for Fuse as she quit soon after Daily Download was canceled.
- Alison Becker, a comedian, hosted The Nighttime Clap and F-List.
- Holly Hannula is the brand new VJ who hosts the new show The Sauce along with Steven. Her last day was Dec. 13th 2007. No reason was giving for her leaving.
Donald Trump has occasionally made appearances on Fuse in their promos.
Fuse is nominally a cable network, and is generally available only on cable and satellite TV systems. Uniquely, however, Fuse is available to residents of central and east Austin, Texas—including resident students of the University of Texas at Austin—via low-power TV station K09VR channel 9, mainly in the afternoons and on weekends. Due to unknown reasons, Fuse is unavailable in most Comcast (non-Adelphia) markets.