MTV Entertainment Group Moves Original Programming, Young Men and Digital to the (Up)front

MTV Networks Entertainment Sales Group under the helm of industry veteran Jeff Lucas will emphasize an expanding slate of original programming multiplatform digital extensions industry leadership in reaching male audiences and ROI research during this year39s Upfront presentations to advertisers The MTV Entertainment Sales Group includes Comedy Central Spike CMT and TV Land and all networks are driving forward in high gear claims group president Doug Herzog CMT programming falls into the music group under Van Toffler but sales are packaged with TV Land under Lucas According to Lucas Total Day reach among males 18 to 49 and 18 to 34 for SpikeComedy CentralTV Land was two percent greater than the combination of ESPNESPN2ESPN Classic for the full year 2007 a delivery of 554 million Men 18 to 49 and 286 million Men 18 to 34 Comedy Central anchored by The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report experienced its highest prime time ratings ever during strikeplagued January 2008 with Men 18 to 24 ratings increasing 46 percent and Men 18 to 34 ratings growing 31 percent 2007 also set annual ratings recordsOn Spike Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts in 20072008 drew an average of 830000 Men 1834 more young men than NBA Playoffs on TNT and ESPN NLCS on TBS 535000 MLB Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN NASCAR on TNT and ESPN and NBA Regular Season on TNT and ESPN quotWe are looking for an original hit to further propel the Spike brandquot says Herzog Today Comedy Central is softlaunching a revamped SouthParkStudioscom a joint venture between the series39 creators and the network The site will include 160 episodes from all eleven seasons and will make clips searchable embeddable and snagable says Erik Flannigan EVP Digital Media for MTV Networks Entertainment Group quotLots of networks have dabbled with making content available online but we39re going further than anyone has gonequot Flannigan told JackMyers Media Business Report in an exclusive interview At TheDailyShowcom 13000 clips are available spanning back to Jon Stewart39s original hosting appearance quotWe39re doing right by the show and exceeding the expectations of viewersquot says Flannigan Similar plans are in the works for The Colbert Report and for the network39s archives of standup comedy The web expansion anticipates restructured deals the company is negotiating with cable and satellite operators Current distribution deals restrict the availability of content available ondemandquotWe have found people are interested in accessing our existing brands in different ways onlinequot Herzog told JackMyers Media Business Report quotThe comedy audience is interested in finding content and having deeper engagement with usquot Although MTV virtually shut down its interactive initiatives during the Internet collapse earlier this decade Flannigan argues MTV Networks has lost little by failing to acquire YouTube quotIf our content is dominating on YouTube are we that much behindquot he asks quotOur content is dominant and relevant and we need to do right by it online by going beyond users39 expectationsquot Flannigan says the company is reaching out to partner with other sites reaching complementary audiences quotThere are mechanisms that have evolved to make it easier to work with partner sites and there are blueprints for splitting revenues The advantage we have is to leverage the TV networks to promote the sites and to draw content from onair programmingquot He adds quotthe potential of putting their content on TV is also the carrot for user generated content creatorsamp8230 the 39prosumer39 creators who are aspiring to get into business Other sites can offer them notoriety but can39t get their content onto TVquot Flannigan points to convergent ad sales as an especially important advantage for advertisersquotDigital is now sitting in the front seat with TV It39s practically one sellquot says Lucas who is EVP Ad Sales for MTV Networks Entertainment Group The focus Lucas explains is on quottargeted original programming as the key for multiplatform extensionsquot Herzog and Lucas described several original programs that are in development for each of the networks and Flannigan added the group is quotdeveloping original content for the web medium itself Much content still feels like content designed for TV We are now embracing content that39s best watched on the smaller screen which is an art formquot MTV Networks has acquired several online and gaming companies including Harmonix Guitar Hero Atom and iFilms to provide platforms for content expansion iFilms is being integrated into Spikecom Atomcom is being repositioned as a 39flanker39 comedy brandquotTV Land is probably the most exciting networkquot says Lucas with four new originals that are expected to reduce the average audience age from 53 to mid40s The March 5 premiere of TV Land39s sixepisode original reality series High School Reunion gave TV Land triple digit gains among Adults 2554 and double digit gains among Adults 4054 The new series reunites classmates from a Texas high school more than 20 years after graduation TVLandcom experienced traffic gains to the High School Reunion microsite Other TV Land original series premiering this Spring include The Big 40 which invites viewers to see people in action as they prepare for a new lifestage as a person in their 40s She39s Got the Lookin partnership with Wilhelmina Models sets out to discover a woman 35 or older who exudes sophistication beauty and confidence and wants to be a model and Family Foreman isan intimate look at former heavyweight boxing champ George Foreman who reinvented himself into a successful businessman pitchman minister and father to ten children five of whom are also named George Along with movies 39contemporary classic39 TV series and four more original series rolling out next season quotit39s an entirely new way of approaching TV Landquot says Lucas quotIt39s a strategic way of approaching the network and moving from a Boomer market focus to a true focus on delivering 40 year oldsquotFlannigan adds that in the future TVLandcom can be home for full length classic episodic TV and he foresees future deals between MTVN and Hulu the website launched last week by News Corp and NBCTV At CMT Gone Country has emerged as the network39s highest rated series ever and My Big Redneck Wedding premiered last Friday to strong ratings quotThe strategyquot says Lucas quotis to continue to deliver originals that have broader appeal and that expand its appealquot Billy Ray ampamp Miley Cyrus will host the 2008 CMT Music Awards on April 14 The producers of American Idol are producing the music competition show Can You Duet with Naomi Judd also premiering April 14 For more information contact Jeff Lucas at jefflucasmtvncom Source Nielsen Npower 2007 Cume based on 1 minute qualifier Data for ESPN News ESPNU and ESPN Deportes is not available via Npower

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE MYERS REPORT RESEARCH & WHITEPAPERS

MTV Entertainment Group Moves Original Programming, Young Men and Digital to the (Up)front

Author

Publish date

Channel

Jack Myers

Hispanic Leadership Roundtable: Inclusion, Mentorship, and Building the Next Generation (Video) - By Juan Ayala

More Videos:

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE MYERS REPORT RESEARCH & WHITEPAPERS

MTV Entertainment Group Moves Original Programming, Young Men and Digital to the (Up)front

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Jack Myers

Hispanic Leadership Roundtable: Inclusion, Mentorship, and Building the Next Generation (Video) - By Juan Ayala

The payment was successful

Cookies