Format
The format of the show on MTV Two was different from the original U.S. series and the show's previous incarnation on MTV Europe in that there were no VJs, commercial breaks, or MTV promotions. The only interruptions came in the form of an ident that played after every four videos. The two-hour strand concentrated on playing 'the real alternative', including new and classic left field indie, rock, electronica, hip-hop and avantgarde videos that may not have been played on other channels or during the daytime, although some videos were also played on the channel's Spanking New Music slots during the day.
Artists such as Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, and Bloc Party were first played on this show before they achieved commercial success, and many videos were played on 120 Minutes before branching out onto the MTV2 playlist. Regular artists on 120 Minutes also included The Fall, The Knife, Pavement, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Kraftwerk and Björk.
MTV2 Europe have also aired many themed shows, including artist specials that played half-hour or two-hour discographies of certain artists including Björk, Kraftwerk and Hexstatic among others, as well as shows curated by people such as Franz Ferdinand, the Drowned In Sound team and Kitsuné Music and specials from the Triptych festival.
Read more about this topic: 120 Minutes (UK TV Series)