Italy: VH1 finds new home on Pluto TV
January 5, 2024
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Music channel VH1 Italia is bidding farewell to Italian TV, shuttering its terrestrial broadcasts on DTT, Sky Italia, and Tivusat platforms on January 7th.
Originally launched by Sky Italia in 2007, the channel dedicated to past and present hits aired on the pay-TV DTH platform until 2010, before returning, this time on DTT, in 2016 replacing MTV Music.
However, the party is not over, as VH1 will live on through its spin-off channels Music Legends, Rock!, Canzoni Italiane, and Hip Hop & Rap on the free Pluto TV streaming platform.
In recent years, the channel strayed from its roots, dedicating more airtime to children’s programming from its sister channel Super!.
This streaming-first strategy, evident in the closure of Paramount and Spike channels in 2022, reflects Paramount Global’s focus on future-proof platforms like Pluto TV and Paramount+.
Music lovers in Italy can still tune in to various music channels like RTL 102.5, Radio Zeta, Radio Freccia, Deejay TV, Rai Radio 2, RDS Social TV, Radio 105, R101, and Kiss Kiss TV.
At the moment it is not clear who will take over VH1 Italia’s channel 167 on the national DTT network.