It is a subsidiary of the Groupe M6; the name W9 has been selected for the channel because "W9" is a mirror written equivalent of "M6", and also as it was the nation's ninth broadcast network.

The name W9 was invented by Les Inconnus in the early 90s with a sketch that spoofed M6's music programming at the time, with the logo being a rotated version of M6's.

Before getting a terrestrial license, W9 was M6 music, a satellite channel launched on 1 March 1998.

The channel was replaced by M6 Music Hits on the day W9 launched.

W9 is one of the first channels of TNT France (French DVB-T).