Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Viacom International Media Networks UK & Ireland To Launch Dedicated Christmas Music Channel Called MTV Xmas; Sky Go Adds Comedy Central

The entertainment news website Digital Spy is reporting that Viacom International Media Networks UK & Ireland (VIMN) have announced the exciting festive news that MTV UK and Ireland will launch a brand new channel in the run-up to Christmas!

MTV Xmas, which will be devoted to playing Christmas-themed music, will take the EPG (electronic program guide) slot of MTV Classics on Saturday 23rd November 2013 up until Christmas Day on Wednesday 25th December 2013.

A special countdown show presented by Slade's Noddy Holder called "It's Christmaaas" will air during the afternoon of the channel's launch.

On Monday 25th November 2013, "X Factor" winners Little Mix will front a similar show entitled "Merry Little Mixmas".



Little Mix's Perrie Edwards and Jade Thirlwall standing next to the SpongeBob SquarePants statue at Nickelodeon UK's offices at Hawley Crescent at Camden Lock in London / Photo from and Copyright (C) @NickelodeonUK.

Stars such as Olly Murs, Tony Christie and Carol Vorderman have also been announced by VIMN as hosts of their own specials, which will showcase their favourite festive hits.

As well as brand new Top 50 countdowns, MTV Xmas will be playing classic Christmas videos including Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' and Wizzard's 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday'.

MTV Xmas will air on Channel 356 on Sky and Channel 321 on Virgin Media.

Additionally, the television industry news website Broadcast is reporting that the UK and Irish satellite television provider Sky has today, Tuesday 19th November 2013, added 14 new channels including Comedy Central, Dave and Discovery to its multiplatform TV service Sky Go.

The service, which is available across a range of devices, now features 57 channels after MTV, Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, TLC, Animal Planet, History, UKTV's Gold, Alibi, Good Food and Eden were among the latest to sign up. The latest channels join a portfolio which already included Channel 4, E4, Nickelodeon, six Sky Sports channels and 11 Sky Movies channels.

Sky Go Extra, the £5 per month upgrade whihc allows users to view shows offline across four separate devices, has been adopted by 219,000 users in the last three months. Sky's brand director of TV products Luke Bradley-Jones said Sky Go attracted 3m unique users every quarter.
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