Music videos killed the radio star, but who killed music video television?

There was no gesture to alert viewers that their regularly scheduled programming would move elsewhere on the dial.

It will, however, always be hamstrung by its name.

VH1, or Video Hits One, is facing a similar identity crisis.

As the leader changed over the years, VH1 walked the path of resistance for the longest time.

Like MTV and many other niche cable networks before it, VH1 maxed out its earning potential.

Music wasnt enough anymore.

Television, like most businesses, is a game best played bycopy cats.

So why is it on Video Hits One, and how does the data pipe see itself moving forward?

Before we look at our crystal ball, its imperative that we look back at how we got here.

Through the 80s and into the mid-90s, MTV was music.

But at least VH1 is extensively involved with a large range of artists.

Both MTV and VH1 were reaching the 18-to-49 year-olds in a way that made broadcast networks pay attention.

The next year, 1996, MTV2 debuted.

To differentiate itself from the new networks, VH1 found a balance between music programming and original content.

The important thing to remember, Sykes toldBillboard, is that everything we do is based on music.

Soon the reality of the television business would prove Sykes words hard to deliver on.

In 2000,Survivorpremiered on CBS and all hell broke loose.

And then VH1 gave us the corpse ofDanny Bonaduceand sold it to us as reality.

He claims to not regret the error.

To its credit, VH1 at least looked for a different angle.

EnterFlavor of Love, where attractive young ladies would vie for the heart hidden behind Flavs clock.

Its important for us that were not famous for one thing, he said.

Thats not to say music is totally absent from VH1s masterplan.

It reverted to a variation of its old logo as it plays a familiar tune in 2015.

Maybe the more important note is that music videos are still there, everyday.

Last year, VH1 televised the ambitious Super Bowl Blitz: Six Nights + Six Concerts initiative.

Isnt that what they wanted in the first place?