So long, The Cool TV, and thanks for all the Styx

Buried deep in Milwaukee’s digital-channel hinterlands is The Cool TV, a music video station that bucks the system by actually playing music videos. Sure, those videos may not exactly be top-shelf, but if you’re looking for a live Human League performance from 1997, that one Ke$ha video from a few years ago, or anything by Phil Collins, you could do a lot worse.

Sadly, The Cool TV’s less-than-cool days appear to be numbered. The Business Journal is reporting that beginning Oct. 1, good ol’ channel 4.3 will be handed over to the Live Well Network, a “new lifestyle and health network” that will undoubtedly feature less Styx and more scrapbooking. Why the change? According to The Business Journal:

Journal Broadcast Group sued the owner of “The Cool TV” on Sept. 1, claiming that the music video programming firm owes $257,500 to the Milwaukee-based broadcasting arm of Journal Communications Inc. (NYSE: JRN). Journal Broadcast Group claims that Cool Music Network has not paid for broadcasting services prior to June 1. WTMJ’s digital station has carried “The Cool TV” since July 2009.

$257,500? Oops. We guess playing old Stryper videos around the clock doesn’t exactly pay the bills. Still, it’ll be sad to see The Cool TV go. Not only did the station take us back a simpler time when music videos ruled the TV landscape, it was free. Oh, and it played stuff like this: