MTV Jams
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| Type | Digital cable/Satellite television network (Music) |
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| Country | United States |
| Availability | National México SKY 2005 |
| Owner | MTV Networks (Viacom) |
| Launch date | May 1, 2002 |
MTV Jams is a Viacom-owned American hip-hop/urban music video channel that debuted on May 1, 2002, replacing MTVX. Like its sister stations MTV Hits,VH1 Soul, and CMT Pure Country, MTV Jams is available exclusively on digital cable packages, such as Comcast, Charter, Cox, and other various cable systems.
MTV Jams is notable for playing music videos all day every day, with no paid advertisements. Short promotional commercials for MTV Jams, its sister stations, and other Viacom-related events do air infrequently between videos. Like all of the other digital MTV/VH1 channels, MTV Jams is based on of the original programming format that MTV2 followed, in which eight hours of videos are programmed each day—airing first at 6 a.m. eastern time, and then repeated twice, starting again at 2 p.m. and 10 p.m.. A completely new cycle begins on the next day at 6 a.m..
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[edit] Initial reactions
The replacement of MTVX with MTV Jams was decried by many rock music fans. MTV's explanation was that, based upon ratings and Billboard chart information, more of the American population would prefer to see hip-hop and R&B music videos, rather than the hard rock videos which MTVX had been created to play.
After its launch, MTV Jams' playlist became predictable and less random than it originally seemed. The new videos that were in heavy rotation were usually played once per hour or once per every two hours.
[edit] Programming
Beginning in the summer of 2004, MTV Jams added some variety into its programming. Along with MTV Hits, MTV Jams began to play more obscure videos, as well as a larger selection of older videos, than it had previously played.
Currently, the breadth of MTV Jams' playlist surpasses that of its sister stations VH1 Soul and MTV Hits, with several hundred more videos played on a regular basis. Most of the urban music videos that have ever aired on an MTV, VH1, or BET network can be seen on MTV Jams, as well as many more obscure urban videos that cannot be seen on any other Viacom network.
[edit] Marathons
Occasionally, MTV Jams will air special, unannounced alphabetical marathons of music videos by artist. This is usually done during holiday weeks and weekends, at times which most of the channel's staff has a vacation. A short A–Z marathon of videos was played during the week of Labor Day 2004. Another longer A–Z marathon, which contained over 1,100 distinct videos, was played starting the day after Christmas 2004 and aired straight through to the first few days of 2005.
[edit] Themed blocks
From time to time, MTV Jams is also known to include special themed blocks of prgoramming, for example, an hour of a specific artist or label's videos, an hour block of '90s gangsta rap, or a string of reggae-style videos. This is always unannounced and spontaenous for viewers, in the vein of MTV2's original format.
In the fall of 2004, MTV Jams presented a week of shows titled "Takeover," where artists were invited to host a day of programming. Artists included Usher, Kanye West, Lil' Jon, Nelly, and Fat Joe. Each artist played their favorite videos and their own videos. Additionally, MTV specials such as 'Diary' and live performance footage was played that related to the artists. This may have marked the first time the channel has ever aired any non-music video programming. In March 2005, MTV Jams invited 50 Cent to their studios to introduce his and his posse's music videos, as well as to play some of his favorite old school videos. He also spoke briefly between videos about his newest album and about his musical inspirations. At the time, these two specials were the most VJ-like to ever appear on the generally low-budget channel.
[edit] Fab 5 of Summer '05
During the summer of 2005, MTV Jams debuted a new, larger logo for itself in order to promote special summer programming called "The Fab 5 of Summer '05" that was running on the channel for the duration of the summer. The "Fab 5" were five up-and-coming hip-hop artists that the channel placed a heavy emphasis on during the entire summer. They were Juelz Santana, Da Back Wudz, Young Jeezy, Tony Yayo, and Paul Wall. Da Back Wudz, Young Jeezy, Tony Yayo, and Paul Wall came into the MTV Jams studio to speak about their careers and to play blocks of their favorite videos. These blocks were rotated pretty heavily, sometimes several times a day, so the summer of 2005 arguably became the period of MTV Jams' history that has seen the most redundant and least varied playlist to date.
The same summer, MTV Jams moved one step closer toward its high-budget, show-based sister networks MTV and VH1 when it briefly aired documentary style programs on the hip-hop themed and MTV-produced movie Hustle and Flow. However, during the "Fab 5" programming, the channel often played brief clips of the "Fab 5" artists claiming that MTV Jams was such a great channel because it played constant hip-hop videos, without reality shows or lifestyle programming interfering, as had happened with regular MTV, VH1, and MTV2. This helped to quell some of the rumors that MTV Jams would gradually follow a pattern of playing more interview type programming and less actual music videos, as had been the case with the other MTV channels.
As the summer drew to a close and the "Fab 5" programming ended, MTV Jams seemed to regain its wider playlist variety.
[edit] Availability
MTV Jams is available on most digital cable systems throughout the country. It is not currently available on DirecTV, Time Warner Cable, or Dish Network.
