Muz-TV (unofficial name — MUZ (МУЗ, from Мы умеем зажигать — We are able to light)) is a Russian music TV channel, broadcasting since 1996. It is largely modelled after western MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 and predates launching of MTV Russia

MTV Russia

MTV Russia is a Russian language free-to-air 24 hour entertainment and music service seen in 22 million households in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Omsk, Voronezh, Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, among other cities.-History:...

 in 1998. Muz TV was founded by Sergey Lisovskiy. Today Muz-TV is owned by UTH Russia.

Muz-TV's format is Russian pop

Russian pop

Russian pop music is Russian-language pop music produced either in Russia or other countries. This is the successor to popular "variety" Soviet music with its pop idols such as Alla Pugachova or Valery Leontiev....

 music videos, although international pop, hip-hop and contemporary R&B

Contemporary R&B

Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...

 can be occasionally seen as well. There are charts for both local and international acts, voted via channel's website.

Muz-TV Music Awards

Annual Muz-TV music awards is presented to Russian pop musicians since 2003. For each nominations, three nominees are chosen by the channel's jury, and then nominees are voted via SMS

SMS

SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...

. Award is presented on the show in Olimpiysky

Olympic Stadium (Moscow arena)

Olympic Stadium, known locally as the Olimpiyskiy or Olimpiski, is a large indoor arena, located in Moscow, Russia. It was built for the 1980 Summer Olympics and hosted the basketball and boxing events. A part of the Olimpiyskiy Sports Complex, it makes up one architectural ensemble with another...

. To date, Dima Bilan

Dima Bilan

' is a Russian actor and pop singer . Bilan represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with "Never Let You Go", finishing second, and he won the contest in 2008 in Belgrade, with the song "Believe". He has had several Russian no. 1 hits....

 and VIA Gra hold the record of eight & seven awards, and keep being nominated every year. To see winners of the award (from russian wikipedia)

Muz-TV music awards is object of sharp criticism in media, because of repetitive list of nominees (for example, Zveri

Zveri

Zveri is a Russian pop/rock band. Noted for their song "Kvartira" featuring in the video game Grand Theft Auto 4-Biography:Zveri was formed in mid-2002 by Roman Bilyk, the lead singer of the band, better known as Roma Zver'....

 have been awarded "Best rock act" six times in a row), and because of lip syncing on the award ceremony.