Canadians who want their MTV will soon be able to get their fill. CTV and the iconic American music channel have announced they are joining forces.

The new strategic alliance announced Wednesday will see CTV and U.S.-based MTV Networks team put two new MTV channels on the Canadian television dial.

Under the terms of the deal, CTV has also gained exclusive access to MTV's broad array of channels, Internet sites and video on demand services.

According to Brad Schwartz, an expat MTV Networks International executive who has returned home to lead the new venture, viewers can look forward to a unique 360-degree entertainment experience.

In an interview with CTV Newsnet, Schwartz explained that means the audience can expect to connect with MTV Canada in new ways, in a variety of formats across an assortment media.

In addition to MTV-branded programming blocks on the main CTV network, the existing TalkTV channel will be revamped and rebranded. An application has also been submitted for a digital-tier specialty licence which, if granted, would mean a dedicated MTV Canada music television channel.

And that's not all, Schwartz says.

Live events, mobile content, video on demand and a broadband-friendly Internet experience are also in the works.

"We're going to create the pre-eminent multi-platform lifestyle entertainment destination in Canada," he said.

Within hours of the announcement, there were already reports rival broadcaster CHUM Television would be keeping an eye on the new venture.

CHUM, through a growing slate of MuchMusic channels, has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with its American counterpart. And it doesn't intend to let any newcomers edge it out without a fight.

"We'll be intrigued to see how Talk TV can be morphed into an MTV brand and still remain a talk channel as licensed," CHUM Limited CEO and president Jay Switzer said in a statement released Wednesday.

"We will be actively encouraging the CRTC to enforce both the spirit and letter of all Talk TV's conditions of licence."

But Schwartz dismisses any suggestion that rebranding TalkTV will violate the station's broadcasting licence.

"We're going to take that MTV DNA, that irreverance, and engage and excite the Canadian production and creative communities to come up with great stuff for us," he told CTV Newsnet, distinguishing MTV's lifestyle branding from the music-focused Much Music.

CTV has already enjoyed popular success broadcasting a number of MTV programs. From the car-customizing show Pimp My Ride to Punk'd and Newlyweds with Jessica Simpson, audiences have demonstrated their love of MTV's irreverant TV style.

But Canadians are also being told to expect a fresh lineup of homegrown original content filling more than 60 per cent of the analogue channel's schedule.

This is not the first time Canadian television viewers will have the chance to tune in a homegrown MTV channel.

Four years ago, Alberta-based Craig media launched the first MTV Canada service. When Craig fell on hard times, the channels were taken over by CHUM. They have since been rebranded as PunchMuch and Razer, leaving MTV free to seek another Canadian broadcast partner.

MTV's move to CTV means the CHUM channels lose their right to broadcast such high-profile programming as the MTV Music Video Awards, effective immediately.

As a result of the deal, the first MTV-related special has been lined up on CTV. The network will air Alicia Keys: Unplugged on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. ET (check local listings), exclusively on CTV. Filmed in July at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the special is a part of MTV's popular Unplugged performance series.