Fuse Drops Pants-Off Dance-Off

In an effort to rebrand itself as the home for all things music, Fuse is lighting up two U.K.-produced original music series and undressing its staple program, Pants-Off Dance-Off.

Seven months into his tenure as Fuse's president, Eric Sherman is taking the Cablevision Systems-owned channel back to its musical roots by offering a mix of original and acquired music fare, such as the British music-related interview series Planet Rock, and by scrapping off-brand reality shows such as the iconic Pants-Off Dance-Off, in which people strip on-air to their favorite songs.

“With Fuse, music is in the DNA of everything we do,” he said. “Over the last year or so we might have strayed from that a little bit, but our focus moving forward is to strengthen our commitment to music going forward.”

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.