Crank up the volume

Are we ready for Scuzz TV? Lester Mordue (right) is leading Sky's assault on MTV with the launch of three music channels. He talks to Ian Burrell

Move over Ozzy Osbourne; music television has a new prince of darkness. A bowler-hatted ape called Scuzz Monkey will become theface of shock TV in Britain this Thursday, when he arrives on screen with the promise that "the later it gets, the sicker it gets".

Aimed at rebellious teenage nu-metal fans, Scuzz television's flagship show, Cuddly Snuff, will demonstrate "101 ways to destroy teddy bears in the most inhumane ways possible". Rock bands are already offering to despatch bears live on stage.

Meanwhile Ozzy, the former frontman of Black Sabbath and star of MTV, no longer bites the heads off doves. He is a dove. "I'd break my son's foot before I'd let him go off to fight some war," he said last week.

Scuzz's attempt to be the grossest channel of them all is part of a three-pronged attack by Sky on MTV's 12-year domination of music television. The music industry itself may be in intensive care, but television is doing all that it can to resuscitate it. Sky's three new channels – Scuzz, Flaunt and The Amp – will bring the number of music stations on the programme guide to 23.

The main question mark about the new stations' prospects is whether they can provide genuine alternatives to what is already on offer. Rivals and critics might argue that The Amp – aimed at "discerning fans of authentic, unmanufactured music" – will encroach on ground already covered by MTV's VH1. Flaunt, targeted at teenage girls with a love of R&B and pop, will compete with MTV Base. And Scuzz offers a view from the mosh pit of some of the "loudest, baddest underground bands" (see the Emap channel Kerrang!) with an accompanying diet of sick japes, Japanese animation and extreme sports that sounds like the turf of MTV's Jackass.

Sky has even had the audacity to poach Lester Mordue from MTV to head its new music-television empire. Mordue, the 36-year-old son of a jazz musician, joined MTV 12 years ago and rose through its ranks. He worked on the launches of MTV UK in 1995 as well as VH1, and these channels are now enjoying their highest-ever ratings.

But Mordue, who arrived at Sky in January, says that "far too many music channels and radio channels are not doing what they should be doing". His former employers MTV, he concedes, have enjoyed great success with shows such as Jackass and The Osbournes. But, he says: "Where's the music in those? Where's the lifestyle in those? They are great programmes, but they've lost their thread as far as the relation to music is concerned. They're not necessarily music television any more."

Other music channels, such as Emap's The Box, mainly offer "back-to-back videos" which, Mordue claims, risks "belittling" the music itself. The Sky channels, he says, will be based on lifestyles rather than on music genres.

Defining the Flaunt viewer, Mordue says: "Seventeen-year-old girls want it all. They are extremely demanding; they want fashion tips, they want to know about horoscopes, they want to know what J-Lo's wearing, they want to hear her song, they want her lyrics, and to learn her dance moves. That's what we are offering and I don't see that anywhere else." So, as well as a video playlist that includes Mis-Teeq, Holly Vallance, Kylie and Eminem, Flaunt viewers will get boyfriend advice from an "Agony Sista" and make-up tips from a "Styla".

The Scuzz viewer, Mordue says, is a boy aged 14 to 21 who claims to "hate the world, hate my parents, hate my teacher", but is passionate about music. "He's all about shutting his bedroom door, turning up the volume to 11 and playing computer games." As well as Cuddly Snuff – being considered for its own show on Sky One – the channel promises Big Tools & G Strings, an insight into the music kit of famous bands. The Scuzz playlist stretches from Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age and Red Hot Chili Peppers to Eminem.

The Amp will showcase the likes of Coldplay, The Strokes and The White Stripes. And Eminem. The station is aimed at the "27-year-old Oasis fan" – an older audience than Scuzz, but younger and "less nostalgic" than that of its rival VH1. "People who are 27 are not dead yet. They're still going to gigs and travelling," Mordue said. "VH1 plays it safe. It's trying to say, 'Sit down everybody, we are going to talk about Fleetwood Mac and the good old days.'"

Somewhat incongruously, one of The Amp's star shows, The Roots, promises nostalgia in the form of "a look at the regional scenes that have influenced music over the last 20 years". But The Amp, which has a tie-up with the indie radio station Xfm, also promises to promote new artists.

Mordue seems genuinely excited about the prospects for the next generation of young British bands. "Guitars and amps are now outselling mixing desks and turntables," he said. "There's a movement coming. There are a lot of inspired young fellas out there getting back to the roots of rock'n'roll. That's really exciting, and we will help them."

Music channels: six of the best

VH1

Target audience: older fans with firm tastes; age: 25-44; gender: mixed; music: adult orientated; archetypal artist: David Gray

MTV

Target audience: fans looking for new big thing; age: 16-34; gender: mixed; music: complete spectrum; archetypal artist: Justin Timberlake

FLAUNT

Target audience: aspirant women; age: 14-18; gender: female; music: R&B, pop; archetypal artist: Ms Dynamite

THE AMP

Target audience: 'real fans of real music'; age: 18-34; gender: mostly male; music: singer-songwriter; archetypal artist: Coldplay

SCUZZ

Target audience: teenage skater boys; age: 14-21; gender: male; music: nu-metal, underground rock; archetypal artist: Foo Fighters