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Uni's Music Channel Could Post Legitimate Competition To MTV

The International Music Feed (IMF), a collaboration between Universal Music and EchoStar Communications, looks to be a likely go, according to Broadcasting & Cable. The two companies, which have been in a legal dispute since 2001, will attempt to have their deal ready in time for the National Cable and Telecommunication's convention next month.  The old dispute centers on a failed $1.5 billion investment in EchoStar by Universal parent company Vivendi Universal, which gave Vivendi five channel slots on EchoStar's Dish satellite network. "Vivendi’s go-go days quickly ended and the company sold its stake back to EchoStar at a $500 million loss," says B&C.  The IMF channel should benefit from the make-nice moves between the two companies.  "Record executives have long dreamed of owning a music-video channel on which they’d showcase their artists and address music fans’ hunger for the videos that MTV has moved away from," B&C says. "Previous efforts have been snagged by antitrust issues and the fear that labels would put the best videos on their own channels ahead of rival networks. IMF will feature an array of international artists, including Latin and Indian, and a hefty dose of American artists on various Universal labels, such as Black Eyed Peas."

 

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