[9][10] By 1989, VH1's music programming would cater to Top 40, adult contemporary, classic rock, and 1980s mainstream pop.

Headlining this programming shift would be VH1's Celebreality block, featuring The Surreal Life & its franchise of various spinoffs.

One spin off, Flavor of Love, proved to be a ratings success, and is cited by observers as the beginning of the network's programming leaning towards shows about African-American personalities (such as the Basketball Wives and Black Ink Crew franchises); similar to BET and its sister networks.

Other notable shows and franchisees that have aired on the network include Black Ink Crew, The Impact: New York (a spinoff of BET+'s The Impact: Atlanta), RuPaul's Drag Race (which was moved over from Logo, and aired on VH1 from 2017–2022), reruns and new episodes of Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'N Out (which originated on MTV), and Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party.

By August 2016, these channels spinoffs had either been realigned under the MTV, BET, or CMT branding, or were shuttered altogether.

Like Overdrive, it was coolly received due to a heavy reliance on broadband and advanced web technologies.