VH1 (stylized as VH+1, sometimes stylized as VH-1 and originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American cable television network based in New York City. It launched on January 1, 1985, in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel. The original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly older demographic than its sister channel, focusing on the lighter, softer side of popular music.
The channel was originally created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communications and owner of MTV. Both VH1 and its sister channel MTV are part of the MTV Networks division of corporate parent Viacom Media Networks. While VH1 occasionally plays music videos and the Top 20 Video Countdown, its recent claim to fame has been in the area of music-related reality programming, such as Behind the Music, the I Love… series, the Celebreality block of programming, and the channel's overall focus on popular culture.
As of February 2015, approximately 92.6 million American households (79.6% of households with television) receive VH1
