LAS VEGAS—Listen to Van Toffler for a few minutes and you’ll begin to wonder if the M in MTV stands for mobile.
“We’re really moving into the wireless space, and our audience is clearly our master,” said MTV Networks’ president, who is set to deliver this morning’s keynote address. “There are some statistics we’re gathering now on how they love, praise and worship at the altar of their wireless device at the expense of all others, frankly,” including MP3 players and portable gaming devices.
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The Viacom subsidiary continues its aggressive move into wireless this week, unveiling several content deals with carriers and MVNOs. Logo, an MTV channel that boasts 20 million viewers, launched a video offering with Amp’d Mobile Inc. targeting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender audience with news clips, comedy shorts and reality programming. VH-1 said it will produce an original series, “Dingo Ate My Video,” specifically for wireless devices. Comedy Central is teaming with mobile software developer Nellymoser Inc. to deliver streaming video of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and other hits. And Amp’d Mobile subscribers can watch live mobile video of tonight’s Ultimate Fight Night at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel and Casino courtesy of Spike TV.
The network is hoping to use wireless to extend its TV programming, luring subscribers to catch up with their favorite shows on their phones. But it also is developing made-for-mobile clips that may run only a few seconds and are designed to be viewed between shows, music videos and other programs.
“It’s a bit of a throwback to what differentiated MTV; it was always a short-form network,” said Toffler. “It was everything in between the videos that set us apart, it was the way we packaged the content. Everyone had music videos, but we relied on (our) people to package in a weird way.”
The company is backing the effort with a $50 million investment in Amp’d Mobile, and the two have formed a joint venture to create both repurposed and made-for-mobile content video clips, ringtones, ringbacks and wallpapers from its 10 channels. MTV Networks Chief Digital Officer Jason Hirschhorn will join the MVNO’s board of directors, and the companies plan to develop joint marketing and promotional campaigns across MTV’s brands and advertising channels.
While Toffler dismissed rumors of an MTV MVNO, saying such a move is “not a priority for us,” he said the company is looking to create community-based mobile applications. A photo-sharing offering is in the works, and the application eventually could allow users to share videos and other multimedia content on their handsets.
And Toffler hopes to use wireless to extend the reach of artists and their labels. MTV and Amp’d Mobile partnered to broadcast live, streaming video of a concert by pop-punk rockers Fall Out Boy, and the company has worked with artists such as Madonna and the Arctic Monkeys to release ringtones in advance of the release of singles and albums. Such tactics can not only generate revenue but can create a buzz even before a release hits the radio.
“These artists are realizing that wireless is a way to break new music,” he said. “They’re viewing it as a whole new platform to expose music in a way that’s germane to how subscribers consume content.”
