Night Flight (the precursor to MTV) and Sub Pop (a long-time indie label), are joining forces to produce a video streaming service that will bear the name Night Flight Plus. The service will be membership-based, and subscribers will be able to watch acts like Weyes Blood, Mudhoney, Orville Peck, and Sleater-Kinney. While the artists may be relatively new, the presenter will be the original Night Flight narrator Pat Prescott.
As Flood notes, “Night Flight Plus is available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and online.”
The original Night Flight first aired back in 1980 on USA Network, just a year before MTV started operations. “The four-hour programming block would take over the network from 11 p.m. – 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. With content ranging from cutting-edge music videos to underground cinema, such midnight movie fare as The Grateful Dead Movie and Yessongs gave rock fans a reason to tune in regularly.”
Mark Mothersbaugh of DEVO and soundtrack scorer for a number of Wes Anderson films noted in a press release that “Night Flight was one of the cool shows to be seen on, and it was a big deal to us to get the opportunity.”
On the other hand, Stuart S. Shapiro, Night Flight creator and CEO, said in the press statement that, “Sub Pop is the quintessential independent label, and Night Flight has always been dedicated to the discovery and support of emerging and alternative artists. We are thrilled that Sub Pop is our first label featured on NF Plus, and expect to make a big push to all the others.”
