Music Channels

This was previously posted about in the Sony thread, but thought it warranted its own thread, given that it seems likely (although not officially confirmed by Trace) that the Chart Show brand will be disappearing in November after 33 years, which really is the end of an era.

Initially, it was unclear as to whether Chart Show TV would actually be rebranded, as Trace have only confirmed a rebrand of 3 channels (not 4).

This page states that Chart Show TV, The Vault and Chart Show Hits will be rebranded, as Trace Urban, Trace Vault and Trace Latina respectively, although the Sky Media page which it links to doesn't actually confirm this:

https://www.tvchannellists.com/Forthcoming_changes_to_digital_platforms_(UK_%26_Ireland)#November

Having said that, I've also found this, where someone from Sky has said that it will be these 3 channels which will be rebranded:

https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Entertainment/Changes-to-the-Sky-TV-Guide-August-2019/m-p/3058312

Assuming that Trace Vault will be showing urban music (rather than pop music), this means that they will be going from 4 pop channels to 1 (or possibly none, depending on what happens to Starz), so will be interesting to see what happens to the ratings, given the previous rebranding of Total Urban to Total Country (possibly due to low ratings), and I'm not sure if there is much of an audience for a dedicated Latin music channel in the UK.

Original post from the Sony thread:

According to this website, it is actually Starz which will rebrand as Trace Urban, with The Vault rebranding as Trace Vault, and either Chart Show TV or Chart Show Hits rebranding as Trace Latina:

https://tv.scottsradiosite.co.uk/2019/09/03/trace-rebrand-uk-music-channels/

It therefore seems possible that the Chart Show brand may see a reprieve (for now at least) and survive the rebrand.

The fact that Trace has only announced a rebrand of 3 channels rather than 4 does make this plausible, and appear to be keeping their options open regarding the brands.

A Sky employee on their customer forum has said " The launch of Trace (scheduled for the 1st November) will affect Chart Show TV, Chart Show Hits and The Vault, which will be rebranded respectively as Trace Urban, Trace Latina, and Trace Vault. "

https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Entertainment/Changes-to-the-Sky-TV-Guide-August-2019/m-p/3058485#M92149

I did mention that in my original post, which included the same link.

My point was that it hasn't been officially confirmed by Trace (at least publicly) which channels will be rebranded, and the fact that they have only confirmed rebrands of 3 channels (and not 4) keeps open the possibility that the Chart Show brand may survive this rebrand.

The Starz website indicates a new look is coming this autumn. Trace did tell Ofcom it was rebranding Starz- but perhaps rebranding it means not renaming it. Although the Starz name is also heavily linked to a completely different US channel, which means Trace do have limitations as to what they can do with that name.

When they removed the interactive service from Starz, they did say it would return in the Autumn, but will be interesting to see if it actually does, and if so what it looks like, and how long it lasts.

The interactive service has been gone for so long that the audience may have gone elsewhere, and may not return, meaning that even if it does return, it may not last very long.

Also, the concept of sending in requests and photos via text to a tv channel is a bit of an outdated format nowadays, and most people would probably rather post a photo on social media or watch a music video online/on demand, rather than pay £1 to see it on TV.

I'm guessing this meas the end of Sabrina the Teenage Witch on (Trace) Vault pretty soon. I presumed it would be the case with Channel 4's arrangement with CBS.

It'll be interesting to see if the channel remains on Freesat, where it is currently the only mainstream station in the Music section of their EPG.

Seems odd to rebrand them all under an umbrella name that has absolutely no recognition factor at all. Trace doesn't even have any meaning in the context of the channels either

It's the same logic that made Marathon into Snickers - using a brand already established in other countries. Is this any different to Paramount Comedy becoming Comedy Central, or Discovery's current plans to rename Home to HGTV?

Ahh, I hadn't realised it was an existing brand in other countries.... albeit an obscure one

Read my second sentence.

'Comedy Central' means something, and everyone knows the brand Paramount. HGTV stands for something.

Trace is virtually unknown in the UK but they're fairly big in France and Africa.

https://trace.company/activities/television/

It actually started in the UK as an urban music magazine in the 90s. The magazine is still running overseas but i'm not sure if it is available here anymore.



Those brands either describe the channel (Comedy Central, Home & Garden TV) or are already very well known (Paramount). Trace has very little recognition outside of its core market.

I've heard that Sabrina could be replaced by Moesha, with Kenan and Kel and Sister Sister staying.



There was Trace Sport channel in the UK a few years ago, but I don't think it lasted very long.

I wonder if they're considering a relaunch of Trace Sport in the UK. Given that they've only announced rebrands of 3 channels so far, they could be considering it for the 4th channel.