Heavy Metal Television, the world's longest-running streaming video channel for hard rock and heavy metal music videos and content, will officially relaunch on Monday, July 5 at 12 a.m. Eastern Time. "It really is time, isn't it?" asks Heavy Metal Television CEO and head of programming Chris Akin. "We are right in the middle of the digital age; the video age, and the best music ever created finds itself without a dedicated outlet to present it. Great rock and metal is being made every day. Videos look better than they ever did before. And yet you have most of the metal community believing the babblings of old-fashioned people that 'rock is dead.' It's not dead at all. It just doesn't have an appropriate outlet to present it anymore. The relaunch of Heavy Metal Television changes that." While Heavy Metal Television originally launched in 2012, it never took off as anticipated due to a large number of factors that are being adapted for the relaunch in 2021. "I looked at it as a whole, and saw a lot of things that I thought we could immediately upgrade to make it work for the times," Akin admits. "I always loved the idea, but just thought that, in 2021, it needed to be redesigned for the modern video consumer." With that, a new platform was developed. A new, state-of-the-art web site was developed to provide information about the programming on the channel. The programming was integrated into the channel's Facebook page for ease of viewing. The streaming channel has also been integrated into the parent company's iOS and Android apps for easy portable viewing on the go. Viewing has also been made available on Chromecast and Amazon Fire devices, with Roku and Apple TV channels scheduled to launch by fall of 2021. As Akin describes it, Heavy Metal Television has been refocused to the needs of the modern metalhead. "In 2012, when Heavy Metal Television originally launched, people consumed video content on a computer as if it was another TV," Akin remembers. "It was 'stabilized in a chair while eating potato chips' television. It's different now. People are used to watching videos, podcasts, and shows while on the go. They watch while walking, on car rides, while riding the bus… pretty much everywhere. We're making that portability possible now." But what will this new programming consist of? According to Akin, it will have everything a metalhead would want to see. "We are covering the full gamut of metal," Akin says. "From hard rock and hair metal through death metal, and everything in between. We'll also have interview shows covering all the artists of yesterday and today, and some killer specialty shows that will paint a new picture of heavy metal for the viewer today. If you are a fan of aggressive music, there's definitely going to be a ton of great music featured on Heavy Metal Television. I'm so excited to share this with fans." One thing that Heavy Metal Television is definitely going to bring back is shows featuring today's artists playing the music. As Akin believes, fans just want to know what their favorite musicians are listening to. "VJ takeovers are going to be a big part of Heavy Metal Television," Akin admits. "As a kid, I remember becoming a CROWBAR fan just from seeing Phil from PANTERA talking about them and wearing their shirt in a video. I want THAT kind of energy to return between fans and bands. That excitement between artist and fan was the heart of music television's fantastic first run. A retweet from your favorite drummer just doesn't have that same impact as we used to experience. Having my favorite bands sharing their favorite music with me, as a fan, always made my musical library grow. This new generation of bands deserve the same opportunity with their fans." Heavy Metal Television launches Monday, July 5, and can be viewed at www.heavymetaltelevision.net or www.heavymetaltv.com, a full-screen no-frills viewer at www.heavymetaltelevision.com or on The CMS Network iOS and Android apps (search "The CMS Network"). Instructions to watch on Chromecast or Amazon Fire devices are available on the web site.
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