MuchMusic, Canada’s first music channel, has suffered a staff massacre with the sacking of 91 people.
The troubled Canadian music channel launched in 1984 via CHUM Limited. It is currently owned by Bell Media. The first music video played on the channel was ‘The Enemy Within’ by Canadian rock heroes Rush.
Bell GlobeMedia purchased MuchMusic in 2006 for $CAD1.7 billion.
The channel has suffered a severe drop in audience in recent years. It has fought with the Canadian Telecommunications Commission to reduce Canadian music content from 50% to 25%. MuchMusic lost its two applications to reduce content, so now it has elected to reduce staff and original programming.
In 2013 to water down music content the channel broadened to play comedy and picked by shows like The Simpsons and South Park and Conan and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
With less staff the channel is now on the verge of becoming a video jukebox with Canadian pop acts like Justin Bieber and Carly Rae-Jepsen upped to high rotation and little space for new Canadian talent considered.
MTV Canada, also owned by Bell Media, was also subject to cutbacks this week.
