Vevo has been primarily known as a YouTube component, streaming music videos. At SXSW Tuesday, the company announced a bold move to differentiate itself: Vevo TV, at first offered online only with planned expansion into cable and satellite TV later this year. As part of the offering, Vevo has re-branded the company with a new logo.
The 24-hour music network, available Tuesday, is similar to MTV, VH1 and Fuse, offering music videos, original shows and live concert streaming.
Down the line, there are plans to hire on-air hosts, Vevo's CEO Rio Caraeff said. The company is owned by by Universal Music and Sony and is in talks with cable and satellite TV providers to carry the channel before year-end, Bloomberg reports.
"The channel will be in all the places you would expect but it won't be on YouTube," Caraeff said. "We are trying to differentiate our brand and service from YouTube. We're using YouTube as marketing for the channel, not distribution."
Vevo TV's initial sponsors are State Farm Life Insurance Co., McDonald's Corp. and film studios. The channel will show a commercial for every three to four videos.
"There is still a time and place when you just want to have something programmed," Caraeff said. "You don't want to lean forward every three minutes to pick another video, you just want it to play."
