Viacom to replace MTV Hits with NickMusic

Weeks after introducing a new MTV Classic brand in place of VH1 Classic, Viacom has rebranded another of its nets, and will replace MTV Hits with a new offering, NickMusic.

The new service will come into being on September 9 as a round-the-clock music net for kids, adding to the Nickelodeon stable of channel.

There will be shows fronted by popular music artists and blocks of themed programmes, concerts and series.

MTV Hits is a basic tier channel that launched in 2002 and is largely programmed with music videos.

The VH1 Classic move to MTV Classic took effect at the start of this month.

Viacom, which has undergone a sustained corporate governance crisis in recent months, is tweaking its line-up of channels as pay TV operators look to trim the number of nets they offer in new ‘skinny bundles’.

Nickelodeon already has NickRadio in the music space.