Cable Music Channel (CMC) was an all-music video channel created by Ted Turner and launched in 1984 by Turner Broadcasting System, providing the first national competition to MTV. Turner later stated that the channel existed at the behest of the cable industry as a defense mechanism against MTV's unsuccessful attempts to increase by twofold the fees cable systems paid to carry the channel; Turner offered the channel with no fees.cablecenter.org

Launch

The channel was created following the success of Night Tracks, TBS' late night weekend music video block.

Turner himself began CMC's first night of programming on October 27, 1984: with a defiant "Take that, MTV!", Turner pushed a button and kicked off the channel with the Randy Newman song "I Love L.A.".