4Music outstrips MTV One on debut

by Fiona Ramsay, Media Week 18-Aug-08, 15:45

LONDON - 4Music, the Channel 4 and Bauer Media joint venture music channel, pulled in a 2.7% share of 16 to 34-year-olds in multichannel homes when it launched on Friday.

The channel, previously called The Hits, launched at 7pm with 193,000 viewers, outperforming ITV2, MTV One and Dave at that time.

On the night, 4Music averaged a 0.7% share of individuals and 1.2% share of 16 to 34-year-old viewers.

For the week ending 3 August, The Hits pulled in a smaller 0.4% share.

The rebranded music channel opened with Davina McCall and Steve Jones presenting Davina & Steve's 20 Big Ones, followed by the world premiere of Kylie Minogue's recent live show from the O2 Arena.

On Saturday, 4Music ran exclusive live coverage of the 2008 V Festival, reporting a 0.4% share on Saturday, and peaking with an audience of 92,000 viewers at 9.30pm, as performances from Stereophonics and Jamie T were screened. In comparison, TMF managed just 49,000 in the same slot.

On Sunday, 4Music pulled in a 0.3% share of viewers, peaking with 143,000 viewers at 6pm during One Republic's set.

4Music attracted an average 1% share of 16 to 34-year-olds during its opening three days, outperforming TMF and MTV One, which recorded 16 to 34-year-old shares of 0.62% and 0.26% respectively.

David Young, programming director for Box Television, said: "Its only the start, but we're delighted to see not only a stellar performance from the new channel, but that with Box TV's portfolio of channels scoring 42% of music market share against Viacom's 36%, 4music has also helped us open up a clear lead as the UK's number one music TV group".