From 1986 to 1988, the show ran on Channel 4, which at the time was largely funded by ITV. Its success led ITV to transfer the show to its main channel from 1989 - a relatively rare "promotion" of a Channel 4 programme to the more mainstream network.
The show, which never featured on-air presenters, pioneered a format where text graphics showing facts about the song or artist were shown on screen during the videos. Although usually purely factual, on occasion these would be used to feature editorial commentary or tongue-in-cheek observations. The format was copied by many shows, including The Roxy (1987) and Top of the Pops 2 (1994).
The first video ever played on the show was "What You Need" by INXS. The last ever video played in the show's original run was Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love", mistakenly described in the final episode as the first ever video played on the show.
Except in 1994, the show featured an annual "Best of" special at the end of the year, featuring awards for the best new act, soloist, group and so on. "Best Video" was the only category to have a corresponding "Worst" category, which was usually introduced with a warped version of the intro music for the "Best" categories. The award winners were chosen by the production team until 1997, when selected categories were open to a viewers' vote.
In 1998, the show received a record number of viewer requests to NOT play a track - Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On", which had a long run at the top of the chart from February onwards. The Chart Show publicly shared this and stated that, despite these record-breaking numbers, an even greater number of viewers had responded to insist the show DID play the track.