Lighting Tv's Fuse

Marc Juris thinks he can light a fuse under MTV, but he'll need more than music videos to incinerate the network's dominance of music television, according to industry experts.

Juris is president of cable music network Fuse TV, which launched one year ago this month into the teeth of five other established music

channels all fighting for a piece of the coveted 12-34 market.

By putting the music back in music television, Juris hopes to convince viewers that Fuse is unique, and preferable to other stations.

"We came to the market as a different kind of music channel that would focus on new music and would be driven by our viewers," Juris says.

Industry observers, however, wonder whether music videos alone can make the difference in a crowded field.

"The irony is, Fuse might be best at putting music back into music television, but the way you get a core audience is to have a series," says professor Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University in New York.

Thompson says that though viewers may complain about the paucity of music videos on MTV, regular programming pulls in a larger audience than videos do.

"I think it's likely that Fuse might do what MTV and MTV2 did and diversify its programming," he says.

TALE OF THE TAPE

Finding the right formula to differentiate Fuse from the other music channels is Juris' biggest challenge.

After a year on the air, the network has made progress, but it still has a long way to go, according to industry data.

Unlike MTV and MTV2, Fuse is available only to digital cable and satellite subscribers. That is a potential U.S. audience of 36 million.

In contrast, MTV, which launched in 1981, has a reach of 402 million cable and satellite subscribers worldwide, according to parent company Viacom, which also owns CBS and music-oriented channels VH1, BET and CMT, among other holdings.

Of those MTV subscribers, about 88 million are in the United States, while MTV2, which launched in 1996, reaches about 55 million U.S. cable and satellite subscribers.

MTV was the top ad-supported cable network in prime time among adults 18-34 for the week ending March 28.

MTV had six of the top 10 ad-supported cable shows for adults 18-34 in that same week. No Fuse program made the top 10.

In fact, Fuse exceeds MTV in only one category: the number of music videos it airs.

In a recent 24-hour period, Fuse's programming was made up entirely of music videos, compared with 79% at MTV2, 75% at MTV and 38% at VH1, according to Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, a Billboard sister company (see sidebar, this page).

NICHE MARKET

Despite its overwhelming underdog status, Fuse still has the potential to carve a niche for itself, Thompson says.

"Is there room for [Fuse]? Absolutely. We have at least three, maybe four or five cartoon networks [and] three women's channels," he says. "For young audiences, there is room for more."

MTV cornered the market on hip when it launched in 1981, and Fuse will have to somehow convince its youthful viewers that it speaks to them more directly.

"MTV has been so good at being this definition of young, hip programming that very few have attempted to play for that same audience and in that same style," Thompson notes.

To build Fuse's own brand of cool, Juris likes to take shots at MTV.

A week after this year's MTV-produced Super Bowl halftime fiasco with Janet Jackson, Fuse ran an ad in the New York Post that poked fun by declaring, "MTV, we at Fuse are standing with you!"

Then there was the time Juris leased a billboard located just outside Viacom's Times Square headquarters and distributed 2 million cups with the slogan, "Where's the M in emptee-vee?"

"The way they are presenting themselves in the marketplace is clever and witty," V2 Music marketing director Dan Cohen observes.

Juris says the ads reflect Fuse's personality.

"We have a rebellious, snarky point of view and add a little bit of cynicism and irony to everything that is happening," he says.

"You do need a signature," Thompson points out.

People have access to many more channels than they are going to watch, he adds, so Fuse needs to become one of the dozen or so channels people flip to first when they are channel surfing.

"[There's a] limited group that you go to regularly," he says. To become one of the channels in that group, "you need an identity."

DAVID AND GOLIATH

Juris' marketing strategy hasn't gone unnoticed at MTV. While Fuse has focused "all their attention and effort on us," MTV spokeswoman Jeannie Kedas says, "we are going to continue to focus on our audience and on breaking new music."

When it comes to new music for Fuse, Juris is trying to target independent labels.

Many artists say exposure on Fuse is beneficial, although some are concerned about aligning themselves with an MTV rival.

"It could take away an opportunity later on MTV," the Crystal Method's Scott Kirkland says, referring to Fuse's sponsorship of the duo's current tour. "But you can't worry about that too much. You ultimately have to do what is best for your current single."

Fuse plays the video for the Crystal Method's "Born Too Slow," directed by Gore Verbinski; MTV2 doesn't.

"I think MTV2's format is less experimental than Fuse," Kirkland adds.

VOTING FOR VIDEOS

Although digital cable reaches far fewer households, it is more interactive than traditional cable. As a result, Fuse has more opportunities to involve viewers in its programming.

For example, "Next Big Thing" and "Oven Fresh" allow viewers to vote for featured acts.

Fuse programming also incorporates game elements. "IMX" allows viewers to pick hits and misses and gain "IMX dollars" for use on the fuse.tv Web site.

New programs debuting in June include "The Daily Download," which will show the 10 most-downloaded songs in the country and offer free downloads of each, and "Fuse Clues," which will feature music videos with clues that relate to online puzzles at fuse.tv.

Like MTV, MTV2 and other networks, Fuse is trying to raise its profile among music fans.

Part of the channel's strategy is tour sponsorship. Aside from the Crystal Method's current outing, Fuse sponsored Deftones and Staind tours (Billboard, Nov. 15, 2003) last fall.

Fuse will also be involved in this summer's Vans Warped tour (Billboard, Feb. 28).

Though the terms of each Fuse deal are different, most include advertising or programming on the channel in exchange for Fuse advertising on tour programs and signs. Most bands also provide Fuse with diaries and Web chats from the road.

Fuse is what "MTV was in its embryonic stage," Staind manager Michael Papale says. "We think there was definitely an impact on Staind ticket sales because of the Fuse partnership."