VH1 Classic Europe was a European music television channel from ViacomCBS Networks EMEAA. The channel primarily featured music videos from the 1970s through to the 2000s (decade), although rare live performances from the 1950s and 1960s could be seen as well.
VH1 Classic was first launched in the United Kingdom on 1 July 1999 and made available from the beginning to the whole of Europe.[1] However, the pan-European service was launched on 30 November 2004, when it became a separate feed from VH1 Classic UK.[2] Like VH1 European, it broadcast from MTV Networks Europe's premises in Camden Town (London, UK). It was officially available to viewers all over Europe (except the UK & Ireland and Italy). Unlike VH1 Classic UK, the pan-European version of the channel was entirely devoid of advertisements, with round-the-clock music videos played out from MTV Networks Europe's comprehensive library in London.
Like the now-defunct Italian feed of MTV Classic, VH1 Classic aired in 4:3 standard definition aspect ratio. There were a few attempts to transition this channel to widescreen, but they failed due to several technical issues.
The first widescreen transition attempt happened on 19 August 2015 at 6:00 CET, which caused VH1 Classic to have severe technical issues for a minute, then it went widescreen temporarily until 6:45 CET, which the music video was abruptly changed to "The Sweet Escape" by Gwen Stefani and reverted to 4:3.[3] The last widescreen transition attempt happened on 9 February 2016 at 7:00 CET, when a fragment of the music video of the song "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith played, but it abruptly shifted to the on-air ident instead, which also failed.[4]
On 1 June 2020, VH1 Classic Europe cancelled Non-Stop Classics, Welcome To The Weekend, and (on Sunday morning) Keep It Classic, Instead, We Are The 80's showtimes significantly expanded. The program begun at midnight, and it ended at midday on every day of the week. On 30 June 2020 the channel cancelled We Are The 80s, and started MTV 80s Takeover. It was later announced that the channel along with the European version of MTV Rocks, would close in October 2020, and would be replaced by MTV 80s.[5]
On 19 September 2020, VH1 Classic Europe broadcast the final episodes of Smells Like The 90s and Nothing But The 00s, and on September 18 of this year, Keep It Classic (the last music video (from not the 80's) on the channel on 19 September 2020 at 23:57 CET was the 'Thunder In My Heart' by Meck and Leo Sayer). On the night of 19–20 September 2020, VH1 Classic Europe stopped broadcasting these programs, and the showtime of MTV 80s Takeover became 24 hours in every single day (except on 5 October 2020 between midnight and 6:00 CET, whenever the channel broadcast Non-Stop 80s Hits).[6]
The channel closed on 5 October 2020, with Born to RunbyBruce Springsteen being the last video played on the channel before being replaced with MTV 80s.[6]
Non-Stop Classics (early name - All Time Hits) - General music videos.
Happy Mondays (early name - Memory Lane Mondays)/Timeless Tuesdays (early name - Turnback Time Tuesdays)/Wind Back Wednesdays/Throwback Thursdays/Flashback Fridays - Music on weekday afternoons.
Classic... - 30-minute music video slots dedicated to one particular artist, band or theme, often featuring lesser known videos and forgotten releases even from big name artists.
Classic Movie Soundtracks - Music from film scores.
We Are The 80s (early name - So 80s) - Music from the eighties.
The 80s At 8 - Morning music program with music videos from the 80s.
The 80s Alternative - Alternative and obscure videos from the 80s.
The 80s Chilled - Laid back music from the 80s.
The 80s Danced - Dance music from the 80s.
The 80s Partied - Disco, funk and party music from the 80s.
The 80s Popped - Pop music from the 80s.
The 80s Rocked - Rock music from the 80s.
The 80s Years - A selection of music videos from one particular year of the 80s.
Nothing But The 80s - Marathon of 80s music videos.
80s Boys vs 80s Girls - Back to back videos, alternating releases from the 1980s boy artist and bands and the 1980s girl artist and bands, sometimes from the same artist.
The 90s Alternative - Alternative and obscure videos from the 90s.
The 90s Chilled - Laid back and chill-out classics from the 90s.
The 90s Danced - Classic dance and electronic tracks from the 90s.
The 90s Partied - Party hits from the 90s.
The 90s Popped - Pop music from the 90s.
The 90s Rocked - Rock music from the 90s.
The 90s Years - A selection of music videos from one particular year of the 90s.
Nothing But The 90s - Marathon of 90s music videos.
90s Boys vs 90s Girls - Back to back videos, alternating releases from the 1990s boy artist and bands and the 1990s girl artist and bands, sometimes from the same artist.
Nothing But The 00s (early name - Sounds Of The 00s) - Music from the noughties. From April 2015 to September 2018, it was also a marathon of music videos from the 2000s.
00s Boys vs 00s Girls - Back to back videos, alternating releases from the 2000s boy artist and bands and the 2000s girl artist and bands, sometimes from the same artist.
