Graden, Brian

UXL Newsmakers, (2006)

Brian Graden poses with Carmen Electra and Dave Navarro, who appeared on MTV's reality show From Death Do Us Part (2004). Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com.

A nostalgia kick at VH1

In early 2002 management tapped Graden to become president of programming for VH1, hoping that he could resurrect the network just as he had done with MTV. Insiders wondered if being in charge of two networks would spread even a dynamo like Graden too thin. Graden, however, was not worried. As he told Allison Romano, "In my own journey, I was ready for a new puzzle." But, after spending some time in the VH1 offices and examining the situation, he had some doubts. First of all, VH1 staffers did not work in the same electric environment that existed at MTV. And, second, Graden discovered that there was actually very little development going on. As he told Larson, "I looked in the cupboard and saw three or four things that had some life. Virtual panic set in."

Graden immediately set about revving up the staff. At meetings he encouraged everyone, from researchers to writers to graphic artists, to express themselves. His one rule, as he explained to Mediaweek was "don't trash anyone's idea." Soon the energy level at the network had kicked into high gear and even the look and feel of on-air programming was recharged. Graphics and program promotions became hip and edgy, reflecting the tastes of the VH1 Gen-X audience. By the second half of 2002, ratings were up by 50 percent, and it looked like VH1 was on the rebound. Some critics, however, had their doubts, claiming that Graden was offering some quick fixes, but little new content. "[He] applied some great band-aids to get them to the next step," a Starcom Entertainment director told Mediaweek. "We have not seen a real daringness in programming yet."

Graden was just getting started. Again, he put out his feelers and tapped into his audience. MTV was aimed at twelve to twenty-four-year olds who were only interested in the trends of the moment. Since Gen Xers were VH1's target audience, Graden decided to target their tastes by leveraging the nostalgia factor. By the mid-2000s Gen Xers were experiencing a definite love affair with all things pop culture. "We want to trigger the emotion from a past that we share together," Graden explained to Megan Larson. "The appetite for recycled pop culture seems endless. It's comfort food." VH1 began serving up large portions of pop comfort food through such series as I Love the '80s, which was followed by I Love the '70s. Both feature highlights of movies, music, news, and fads specific to the featured decade, interspersed with commentary provided by celebrities and entertainment critics. Viewers responded and began coming back in droves. By 2004 VH1 was in full recovery and the network had nearly tripled its original programming.

The Graden factor