Friday, April 22, 2016

MTV Pledges Return to Music

The death of Prince happened to fall on a momentous day for MTV, which on Thursday unveiled a new slate of programming at its spring “upfront” presentation to advertisers that highlights, interestingly, more music.

As MTV President Sean Atkins told Variety, the network wants to “put the ‘M’ back in MTV.”

The new group of shows include a music series called “Wonderland,” which will feature live performances from three different acts. MTV said the show is its first weekly live-music performance in two decades.

Mark Burnett, of “Survivor” fame, will produce a currently untitled music competition series. “MTV Unplugged,” where artists play acoustic, intimate versions of their hits, will be rebooted. The network will also develop “Studio 24,” where artists are paired to create a song in 24 hours, and “Year One,” a documentary series that will look at the breakthrough year in various artists’ careers.

As ad buyers and marketers began their treks to the Midtown Manhattan presentation on Thursday, MTV was preparing Prince programming. The network said it would change its logo to purple for the entire day to honor the “Purple Rain” singer, with MTV and MTV2 airing his music videos continuously.

“MTV is heartbroken and in utter disbelief at the news that the world has lost Prince Rogers Nelson so suddenly and so before his time,” the network said in a statement. “Prince was a once-in-a-lifetime artist who transcended every medium and genre he touched and created music with a passion and individuality that inspired multiple generations.”

The Wall Street Journal reports an MTV spokesperson confirmed that the network’s Prince programming was a reflection of its broader push back into music and news.

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