VH1 UK together with VH1 Germany was first launched on 10 October 1994 as a complementary network to the youth-orientated MTV. Between June 1999 and 2001 it was temporarily rebranded by VH1 Export, also broadcasting on mainland Europe. In 2001 VH1 Export and VH1 Germany merged into the Pan-European VH1 channel. VH1 UK became a separate local television channel. It originally took the same focus at launch as the main American network of a focus on mainly adult contemporary artists for an audience between 21-44, with a broad playlist involving music videos from the 70s to the present day along with weekly countdowns, a format maintained until around 2008. Besides the American network's features and programming, a unique feature of the network was Ten of the Best, in which an artist's video is played, then the artist's personal top ten list being played with explanations from the artists for their choices. The same concept was also carried by VH2, but with their alternative artists.
Final format
On 1 May 2018, VH1 moved to Sky channel 174 and as a result, the channel took on a general entertainment focus, matching the American network, though due to the American VH1's programmes being licensed to other networks or broadcasters, it carried content from Channel 5 or MTV. VH1 completed its transition to a general entertainment format in October 2018 with VH1 US programs, including and Ru Paul's Drag Race, though music programmes continued in non-prime timeslots. VH1 Christmas moved to MTV Rocks. In March 2019, VH1, along with sister channel BET moved EPG numbers on Sky. VH1 moved to 160 and BET moved to 173, swapping places with PBS America and Together TV respectively. In December 2019, BT TV announced that VH1 would be leaving the UK market along with Universal TV and that the channel would close on 7 January 2020, the same day as sister channel 5Spike.. The EPG channel slot was deprecated on all platforms except Virgin Media UK, where MTV Classic replaced it after a ten-year absence.
VH1 inspired two spin-off channels, both of which have since switched to MTV spin-offs:
VH1 Classic played all-time greats from the 1960s to the 1990s. The channel was rebranded as MTV Classic.
VH2 showed mainly music videos and live concerts. It focused on rock, indie and punk music and branded itself as "the alternative to manufactured pop". The channel was replaced by MTV Flux, which itself was replaced by MTV +1.
