On first impressions, there’s no question that Revolt TV is a channel programmed by music lovers. Just watching a half-hour of videos is enough to get exposed to a surprisingly wide range of artists and genres.
The policy is an ace up the sleeve for Sean “Diddy” Combs’ network, which launched in a blaze of publicity on Monday (it airs on Ch. 105 on Time Warner Cable and via revolt.tv).
Whether it’s A-listers like Kanye West or up-and-comers like the hotly tipped British street urchin King Krule, Revolt TV doesn’t seem to discriminate and places them side-by-side. Even for a supposedly well-informed critic like myself (yeah, right), there’s much to learn. For instance, I had no idea that video for “Diane Young” by Vampire Weekend featured one of the band passionately making out with a coffee maker. And we all thought twerking was perverted.
There are also magazine-style shows already dotted into the schedule such as “In Harms Way” which feature small profiles and interviews with newer acts. But without the established clout of MTV, it will be a little while before Revolt manages to secure access to the biggest names.
What is also key to Revolt’s strategy is Diddy’s presence. He’s not merely the silent investor in the channel; he’s the familiar face that’s very much front-and-center. Throughout the day, he frequently and enthusiastically peddles the pitch to his audience of millenials. “We are here to empower them,” he shouts in one promo, but the question is, do millennials go to TV for empowerment?
One of the reasons that MTV has moved away from simply music programming — and other music-based networks like FUSE perform so poorly in the ratings — is because anyone under the age of 25 is hotwired into the Internet. Why watch a TV channel all day to get info on the artists you like (as the pre-Web generation did) when you find everything you want online?
So while the content is good, the broader lifestyle change is something Revolt TV seems to ignore — and that could leave it adrift very quickly.