CD:Live (Euroish TV programme)

CD:Live (Countdown Live) is a Euroish chart music programme which ran from 5 March 1999 to 20 November 2009. The programme ran live for an hour on Friday evenings, originally at 6pm and later at 7pm, on The Fix digital TV channel, with a repeat the following lunchtime on TV3, and spinoff programme CD:Live Hotshots on TV4. It was the Euroish version of the British music programme  and replaced The Big Top 40 which had ran in the Friday evening/Saturday repeat slot since March 1996.

The programme included a studio audience and live performances, along with interviews, competitions and music news. CD:Live featured the Friday Night Chart, which although was unofficial, usually reflected the new chart positions a day before the official chart was announced on 3FM. This made ETV's long-running Chartdown, which aired only the night before, seem very out-of-date broadcasting the previous week's chart.

Throughout the programme's history it was sponsored by McDonald's, Technic, Sminster, Orange and Virgin Megastore.

History
CD:Live, initally referred to as Countdown Live (in lieu of the logo using CD:Live from the start) was first broadcast on Friday 5th March 1999 on Club 3's digital television channel, reshown the following afternoon on TV3 itself. The programme's inaugural presenters were Steve Wilkinson (formerly of Super Saturday) and Channel 4 presenter Mollie Hedges.

In 2001, after the programme recieved a few complaints for showcasing "raunchy" music performances to a younger audience, CD:Live Hotshots was launched as a late night spin-off programme on Channel 4 broadcasting uncensored performances.

Wilkinson left the programme in 2003 to focus on his commitments presenting Big Brother; the evictions of which were broadcast just hours after CD:Live's transmission. Hedges meanwhile left the programme at the end of 2005, to take over the mid-morning slot on 3FM, which she debuted in on Monday 9th January 2006.

A rotating panel of male presenters taken over from Wilkinson's place on the programme, with Joe Mace later named new presenter of the programme in September 2004. Throughout 2006 CD:Live had rotating female guest presenters including, Rachel Thomas and Josie Hammond, the latter of which permanently took over as presenter of CD:Live in November 2006. Joe Mace left CD:Live in June 2007, reportedly due to clashes with Josie Hammond, with Stephanie Hirst replacing him.

CD:Live was axed by TV3 in August 2009 due to falling viewing figures and to invest in a new live Friday evening music show for 2010. The final edition was broadcast on Friday 20th November 2009, replaced in January 2010 by Friday Night Playlist, which was not as successful and axed after two years.