doodledee

I read about this new music television station the other day. It's called Fuse and I think it's from Canada or something. They've spun themselves to be some kind of alternative to Mtv that caters to real music fans by giving them more of what they want (hint: music) and less of what they don't (hint: Punk'd and Jackass).

What a second... I LOVE THOSE SHOWS! But anyways.

Fuse pitches themselves as an 'underdog' and 'champion of the people' and it's a total hoot. Sure, it's easy to sit back and call yourself an underdog when you're up against Mtv when you consider that Mtv's parent company, Viacom, also owns Mtv2, VH1, VH1 Classics, BET and Country Music Television. (They also own like a bajillion other media properties.) But Fuse's parent company, Rainbow Media Holdings isn't necessarily a rookie to the cable business as they already own WE, AMC, and IFC.

If you need proof of Rainbow's cable influence, all you need consider is that Fuse is already in 31 million homes. And they launched in May. I don't think that would be the expected growth curve for an independent cable channel. Hmm, I guess it is all about who you know.

Here's a blurb from the Fuse corporate site:

Fuse reflects the rapidly changing interests and irreverent attitudes of its 12-34 year-old audience by uniting the media platforms that are at the center of their communication and entertainment - tv, online, and interactive games - and by incorporating their opinions and suggestions into its on-air and online programming.

As the only alternative to mainstream music television, Fuse is based around core principles that represent the network's promise to the audience and illustrate the brand's personality. Most importantly, Fuse is a curator of music programming. It does not dictate to its audience but rather, the programming is informed and guided by viewer input. Through different platforms, Fuse empowers the audience to "do it yourself": choose their music, contribute to and be heard by the network. Fuse is also inclusive and includes programming from a wide range of music genres. And, Fuse has a sense of the absurd, just like its audience.

Central to Fuse's identity are a progressive logo, changing taglines, viral marketing campaigns that break the rules of traditional branding...

Ok, that's enough of that. Anytime somebody says 'progressive logo', I immediately stop taking them seriously. I wonder how Fuse's target audience - with their irreverent attitudes and their sense of the absurd - would react after being shown a corporate branding strategy document like this? I wonder if they'd feel 'empowered' to 'do it themselves'?

But a lot of people haven't seen it and probably never will and that's probably ok. The network is growing, they're playing music on TV, and people seem to like it. And, as lame as it is, it's still a little competition for Mtv, which can't be a bad thing. So for now, I'm cynically pro-Fuse.

I heard Ted Turner on NPR the other day talking about how in today's consolidated media world that a company like CNN would never make it. Maybe he was only half wrong. Maybe a company that pretends to be a no-BS underdog company like CNN can indeed make it.