As part of its evolution into the first men's network, The New TNN will be
getting a new handle, Spike TV, in June, network officials said Tuesday.
Officials at Viacom Inc. are looking to completely shake off TNN's
association with its former incarnation as The Nashville Network, a
country-music service. So it will be rebranded June 16, with its new logo
unveiled at MTV Networks' upfront May 6.
"Spike TV for me is great," TNN president Albie Hecht said. "It's a guy's
name. It has personality. It's smart, sexy. It's unapologetically male. It's
active. It's sporty. It's got a contemporary feel to it. It's aggressive and
it's irreverent, and those are all of the qualities we really want for the first
network for men. Hopefully, it will produce a spike in the ratings."
The rebranding will be supported with a major marketing campaign.
TNN also unveiled Tuesday the first slate of short-form programming, series
and specials for its transformation into a "home base for men."
The network has forged partnerships with several magazines to do short-form
reports that will kick off soonest of all the new fare.
"Men's Health Minutes" will incorporate content from Men's Health
magazine, while "A Guy and His Stuff" will be based on the column of the
same name in Stuff magazine, and it will serve as a wrap-around for the
network's Wednesday movie.
"CBS MarketWatch" will offer financial news three times per day, while "Zero
to 60" will keep men up to date on autos and gadgets.
Spike TV will have six new series on its roster that will debut from December
through March.
Those include Ride with Funkmaster Flex,with the DJ and car
enthusiast taking viewers into his world of car culture with guests like Eminem;
Top 10 Things Every Guy Should Experience, which includes events like the
Indianapolis 500 and the Kentucky Derby; The Eight-Minute Workout
Challenge; The Scene, a reality series on young entrepreneurs;
Ultimate Vacation Sweepstakes;and Crash Test, a
party-crashing competition.
In January, Spike TV will also roll out a weekend lifestyle-program block,
airing at 9 a.m. Saturdays and 11 p.m. Sundays, according to
Hecht.
