MTV Europe: An Analysis of the Channel's Attempt to Design a Programming Strategy for a pan-European Youth Audience Alida Huji6 Submitted in Accordance with the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of London Department of Media and Communications Goldsmiths' College University of London July 1999 ABSTRACT This thesis examines the ascendancy of MTV (Music Television) in Europe. It concentrates, above all, on the period between 1987-1996, which represents the phase when the channel was transmitted as a single pan-European network. This thesis is an interdisciplinary study that offers a reading of music television texts in relation to the institutional context in which messages are produced and the different cultural contexts in which they are received. The analysis begins by locating the phenomenon of MTV within the political economy of the music and media industries. The factors which constitute the 'novelty' of MTV as a particular type of TV (i.e. a branded channel) in relation to a particular type of audience (i.e. the 'youth' who were traditionally out of the reach of terrestrial broadcasters) are assessed. The pan­ European dimension of MTV is subsequently incorporated by way of a comparative analysis of the relative failure of the EC's initiatives to develop a pan-European broadcasting strategy and the relative success of MTV in this venture. A separate chapter explores the possibility of creating a sense of being European through shared tastes in music. The proposed arguments are then illustrated by case-studies conducted across the contrasting terrain of selected Western and Eastern European countries. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3 Acknowledgement 4 Chapter 1: Research Design and Methodology 6 Chapter 2: MTV in the Context of the Political Economy of the Cultural Industries 25 Chapter 3: The Difference Between Narrowcasting and Broadcasting 52 Chapter 4: Two Interpretations of the Phrase 'Unity In Diversity' as a Model of European Identity and TV Culture 77 Chapter 5: In Search of a European Lingua Franca in Music: The Development ofMTV's Music Playlist (1987-1993) 117 Chapter 6: The Launch of the Music Television Viva in Germany: The Beginnings of the End of MTV' s Europe 165 Chapter 7: MTV in France: Minimum Cable Potential, Maximum Distribution 192 Chapter 8: MTV in Eastern Europe: 'Anthropologising' the 'West' 227 Chapter 9: MTV in War-Torn Bosnia and Herzegovina: Towards a New Form of Publicness Not Reliant Upon Territoriality 258 Chapter 10: Conclusion 292 Bibliography 299 List of Interviews 317 Appendix 318 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENT This thesis began at a time when a war raging in my native country appeared to have no end. When everything I knew in Sarajevo was being mercilessly destroyed, I had to try to rebuild my life away from home. This project was envisaged as a way forward and I would like to express my gratitude to all those who, in various stages of this venture, helped me to achieve this goal. I begin by thanking my fOlIDer English 'lektor' from Sarajevo University, Bill Tribe, who vouched for my academic credentials when any kind of communication with Sarajevo was cut off. I am also grateful to my other former tutor from University, Vlado Sucic, who provided a transcript of my grades, a tremendous task under the circumstances back then in besieged Sarajevo. Celia Hawksworth from the School of Slavonic Studies has been a great support to many Bosnian students, not just myself. She is special to all of us. I am especially grateful to Goldsmiths' College for offering me a place to study. The following institutions provided much needed additional financial support: The Open Society, BFWG, the Central Research Fund, Mister Taha's organisation and 'Dillons' who awarded me their 'excellence in achievements' award with the accolade 'London Student of the Year' in 1996. I hope that the latter repays some of my debt to those who supported this project. I was very fortunate to find myself in an educational environment like Goldsmiths'. Many ideas in this thesis were discussed, worked and reworked with friends and colleagues from the Media and Communications Department. The following people offered valuable help: Jonathan Burston, Jane Eldrige, Linda France, Andy Goffey, David Hesmondhalgh, Caspar Melville, Maria Pini, Herbert Pimlott, and from other departments, Keith Hanis, Syd Hancock and Joan Turner. My gratitude goes to all friends and colleagues from other universities who provided supportive comments and/or reading material, most notably Johan Fornas, Michael Forsman, Simon Frith, Eric Gordy. 4 This project would not have been possible without the assistance from current and former 'MTV people', who helped me in different ways and whose help is equally appreciated: Louise Angus, Sophie Bramly, Fran<;ois Deplanck, Caroline Garton, Simon Guild, Brent Hansen, Sandra Keenan, Jonathan Lewis, Roy Lindemann, Laura Lynch, James Penny, Graham Swann, Polly Stevens, Thierry Thouvenot, Dina van der Elst. The following people were also generous with their time: Simon Aboud (Magic Hat), Dominic Benjamin (Plava), Matine Coquet (CSA), Laurence Gallot and Isabelle Odiana (Canal Plus), Ermin Elezovi6 (War Child), John Grant (St Lukes), Jean-Pierre Millet (MCM), Tina Poyser (IFPI), Thorsten Reiter (Viva). It remains to share my deepest sense of gratitude. For his enduring support, for all he has taught me, for being a great person, I warmly thank my supervisor, Dave Morley. I cannot find the words to describe what my parents endured in these past years and yet they found the strength and means not just to survive but also to encourage me to go on. I love them very much. To them I dedicate this thesis. It is also written in the memory of my grandmother (majka) who did not make it through the years of hell in Sarajevo. 5 Chapter 1 CHAPTER! RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY INTRODUCTION In the midst of the cold war between the capitalist West and the communist East, an American Coca-Cola salesman I is trying to break through the Iron Curtain and sell his product to the Russians. Confidently, he says: "Napoleon blew it, Hitler blew it, but Coca­ Cola's gonna pull it off!". MTV2 (Music Television) in Europe was launched on 1st August 1987, as part of the international expansion of MTV Networks. MTV was initially 50% owned by British media mogul Robert Maxwell and British Telecommunications and the American media conglomerate Viacom (each holding 25%), and was completely taken over by Viacom in February 1991 (cf. Banks, 1996:91). What began as an experimental pan­ European version of the MTV format turned out to be the most successful of the several versions of MTV in the world, including the original MTV which was launched in the United States (US) in August 1981. MTV's debut was viewed sceptically, partly because competing pan-European TV channels - the music video shows on media mogul Rupert Murdoch's Sky services, and ten hours of Music Box per day on Richard Branson's Super Channel - had proved to be unsuccessful, and partly because some questioned whether there would be enough advertising revenue to support such a service (cf. Banks, 1996; also see Collins, 1992; Frith, 1993). However, by the time that MTV moved from rented accommodation into newly bought Headquatters and studio facilities in London's Camden Town in July 1993, the company's financial prosperity was evident. MTV not only found substantial advertising revenue but it also became the most convincing attempt to create a single channel for a pan-European youth audience, to date. No matter how corny MTV's representation of Europe was, no matter how 1 Played by James Cagney, starring in Olle Two Three (US/1961; dir. Billy Wilder). 2 I shall use MTV meaning MTV Europe; if reference is made to another MTV network, it will be stated explicitly. 6 Chapter 1 transparently manipulative its slogan 'one nation - one television station', there was something about MTV that transcended cultural and language differences and appealed to an international audience. Indeed, as Andrew Goodwin (1993a:xvi - whose study of MTV US is the most influential reading informing this analysis) remarks, it is difficult to ignore the 'cynical brilliance' behind the two most prominent features of MTV (as a cultural phenomenon): the issue of pleasure (i.e. MTV is 'fun to watch') and the fact that it invented a solution to the perennial problem of cable/satellite TV (i.e. how to generate revenue). What makes MTV's success in Europe even more worthy of attention is that it cleverly capitalised on the socio-political currents surrounding its launch, that were beyond its makers' control. One has to bear in mind that MTV came to life at a time when the idea of a united Europe was fervently promoted by Western European politicians in preparation for the unification of twelve countries into a single market in 1992. Then, unexpectedly, in 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall marked the end of the Cold War. For the first time in decades, political circumstances fostered the hope of a united Europe. In an atmosphere of Europhoria, television was hailed as an indispensable tool in forging a sense of European identity, which will be a central theme in this thesis. The European Community'S (EC) politicians talked of a 'television without frontiers'. However, their initiatives to create a form of television that could appeal to nationals of twelve countries failed, while MTV reached audiences in 37 countries (see appendix). Moreover, for the first time in the history of television, Western TV networks became accessible (without political restrictions) to Eastern Europeans. MTV was one of the first foreign channels to be available there on a daily basis.