“More choices. More music.”
In case you’re not familiar, that was the very first slogan used by local music channel Myx during its first few years on TV. In case that you were also living under a stone, Myx has celebrated their 20th anniversary last Friday, November 20. But where did the “Philippines’ number 1 music channel” really start?
Early years
Initially launched as a block on free TV channel 23 during the hours outside primetime as it was occupied by Studio 23. The rationale behind the launch of the channel was to replace the slot that will be vacated by MTV Philippines – who in turn inked a deal with NBC Channel 41 to broadcast there starting January 2001.
According to the channel’s former head Andre Alvarez, Myx also wanted to carve a market of its own. The block first targeted the “Generation X” audience and the playlist consisted of songs that are not usually played by the ‘behemoths’ that were Channel V and MTV Philippines.
But outside of the block, ABS-CBN also had another music channel venture: Vid-Ok. Little is known about the channel these days, except that it was launched in the late ’90s, it was the top-rating music channel in the Philippines – thanks to its karaoke-oriented format – and serves as a precursor to the Myx that many people know today. Coincidentally, Andre Alvarez also served as the channel head for Vid-Ok.
Also, despite the effort to find more traces of Vid-Ok, only these two videos are currently in the internet that would confirm its existence once upon a time in our local cable TV history.
Vid-Ok is integral to the stronger Myx brand that would kick off on Valentine’s Day 2002. In his interview with the Philippine Entertainment Portal in 2010 (during Myx’s 10th anniversary), Alvarez said that it was the management led by Freddie M. Garcia that ordered the merger of Vid-Ok and Myx on 23. Thus, his group decided to retain the name Myx with the Vid-Ok format sticking on by having all music videos aired on the channel with lyrics on the lower-thirds.
Outside of the initial backlash from the fans of the original iteration, Myx secured its place in the local pop culture scene when it debuted “Myx Mo!”, an annual music festival that debuted in 2002. The festival served as an important platform for many bands that have experienced a phenomenal success during the mid-2000s.
A conscious effort was also made by the channel bosses to let artists from rival networks to promote their music on Myx. According to Alvarez in his Myx 20 interview, they veered away from “network wars” to make everybody feel welcome and embody the spirit of fairness in the channel.
VJs (video jockeys) were also key to the channel’s popularity among the youths of the 2000s. The likes of Karel Marquez, Geoff Eigenmann, Luis Manzano, Nikki Gil, Iya Villania, and Heart Evangelista were instrumental to the Myx’s early successes. Evangelista also served as the “face of Myx” amid her skyrocketing popularity in the field of acting. Celebrities were also given the chance to present shows and segments for the music channel via “Myx Celebrity VJ for the Month”.
Speaking of VJs, fresh talents were also unearthed when the “Myx VJ Search” was established. Familiar names among viewers like Bianca Roque, Chino Lui Pio, to name a few were discovered during the early years of the search.
The brand was also launched internationally via Myx TV in North America. That channel’s content, however, is different as Myx TV focuses on creating entertainment shows for the niche Asian American audience as opposed to the music-oriented Philippine counterpart.
Fast forward to the 2010s
The 2010s saw the “graduation” of Manzano, Villania, Lui Pio, and Gil – four of the longest-serving VJs of the channel. However, new jockeys were also brought onboard like Ai Dela Cruz and Robi Domingo – two of the VJs with the longest tenure in recent years.
Myx on TV also welcomed coverage international events such as the Mnet Asian Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, among others. Reality and game shows like “Wer U At?”, “Myx Adventures”, “Myx Olympics”, and “Myx 3 on 3” were also introduced, signifying a shift in the habit of the channel’s target audience.
Speaking of TV, the channel lost its more than a decade-long simulcast on Studio 23 as the free TV channel signed off for the last time on January 16, 2014 to give way for a sports channel that was S+A. However, Myx would later return to free-to-air via digital terrestrial television. At first, only a weekend Myx block aired on TVplus’ KBO. But between July 30, 2018 and May 2020, Myx aired as a standalone channel – a period that marked the return of Myx to its free TV roots.
Social media also became a huge part of the channel’s overall presence. In 2016, former VJ Sunny was hailed as the first Myx Vlogger and served exclusively as host to the channel’s digital content before being promoted as a VJ. In 2019, Myx launched a new YouTube channel named “All Music Myx” that features the best of live and unplugged performances from predominantly local artists.
ABS-CBN shutdown and subsequent franchise denial
On May 5, the main ABS-CBN network was forced to go off the air upon the expiration of its legislative franchise to operate. As a result, Myx was once again exclusive to cable subscribers on TV. But as the COVID-19 pandemic was still at its peak, many segments and programs were also being produced exclusively for digital.
After the denial of the network’s franchise renewal application on July 10, ABS-CBN implemented a company-wide retrenchment program including Myx. After August 31, only VJs Samm Alvero and Ai Dela Cruz were retained to continue the in-vision operations. Beyond the Daily Top 10 show, it’s been especially remarkable that most of the channel’s output were without any VJ intro – eerily similar to the Vid-Ok format.
Myx is an institution
It’s an undeniable fact that Myx is an institution in the local music scene. Many artists and VJs alike recognize the huge contribution of the channel to their respective careers, many whom clearly state that they gained recognition through the help of channel.
Despite facing a huge crisis, one must applaud Myx for their continuing effort to bring music closer to the Filipinos around the country (and even the world).
Congratulations, Myx on your 20th anniversary and here’s to twenty more years of “your choice, your music.”