Spike TV Does the Right Thing

Third time's a charm? Maybe not in Spike TV's case. The National Network, which had been the Nashville Network until 2000, wanted to change its name to something that would appeal more to male viewers. It came up with Spike TV, to be marketed as the first network for men. The new name was supposed to go into effect on June 16, 2003, and be followed by a televised launch party at the Playboy Mansion, but three days before the popping of champagne corks, film director Spike Lee won an injunction in the New York supreme court to block the change. Lee asserted that viewers would connect the television station with his name. The case was settled in TNN's favor less than a month later, however, and the station has been Spike TV ever since.

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