ITV

Tag: IFilm

  • MTV US acquires college destination site Ratemyprofessors.com

    MTV US acquires college destination site Ratemyprofessors.com

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster MTV’s college network mtvU has acquired RateMyProfessors.com, a rapidly growing online destination with more than 6.6 million user-generated ratings of over 900,000 college professors.

    The Internet’s largest listing of collegiate professor ratings, the site reaches approximately 10 million total college students in the US each year, who use the free service to plan their class schedule, and rate professors on attributes such as helpfulness and clarity.

     
    With the combination of RateMyProfessors.com, mtvU.com, and the recently acquired College Publisher network of over 500 online college newspapers, mtvU now claims the second most trafficked set of general interest college-focused websites – further solidifying its position as the largest multi-platform college network.

    RateMyProfessors.com the broadcaster says is a strong addition to its family of online brands, as the company continues to super-serve audiences with relevant and innovative content via engaging new platforms. Following MTVN’s recent purchases of Y2M, Atom Entertainment, GameTrailers, Harmonix, IFilm, Neopets and Xfire, this acquisition demonstrates the company’s continued commitment to being a premier multi-platform media company across every screen consumers use.

     
    MTV chairman and CEO Judy McGrath says, “This deal marks another step forward in our overall digital strategy and brings a large, active and engaged community of college students to our growing online portfolio. With sound acquisitions and organic growth, we’re constantly offering our audiences new ways to interact and express themselves, strengthening and deepening our connection with them in the process.”

    MTV president Christina Norman says, “This acquisition reflects MTV’s strategy of being everywhere our audience is and harnessing its creative firepower – in this case the millions of ratings generated by students on RateMyProfessors.com. This site is a perfect addition to mtvU’s multi-platform offering, further establishing the network as the definitive way to connect with college students on-air, online and on campus.”

    mtvU GM Stephen Friedman says, “Choosing the best courses and professors is a rite of passage for every college student, and connecting with peers on RateMyProfessors.com has become a key way millions of students now navigate this process. We look forward to partnering with the site’s great staff and users, and expanding into new areas that will help students get much more from their college experience.”

  • MTV Networks creates MTVN Entertainment Group for adult male audiences

    MTV Networks creates MTVN Entertainment Group for adult male audiences

    MUMBAI: MTV Networks (MTVN), a unit of Viacom, has announced the formal creation of the MTVN Entertainment Group, a multi-platform portfolio featuring the company’s adult- directed and male-skewing brands, including Comedy Central, Spike TV, TV Land, AddictingClips.com, Atom Films, IFilm, GameTrailers.com and XFire.

    This combination of television, online, broadband, user-generated content and gaming platforms positions the MTVN Entertainment group to serve a range of adult demos and collectively deliver scale with the male 18 to 34 year old demographic, informs an official release.

    “The individual brands in the Entertainment Group have significant growth potential in their own right, but we can now position them to aggregate and deliver men and adults across all platforms and on a scale rivaling other players in our industry,” said MTVN Entertainment Group president Doug Herzog.

    “The MTVN Entertainment Group creates a portfolio of television and digital brands that can collectively deliver under-served demos through killer content like comedy, gaming, video, news and information, and some classic TV, too,” said MTV Networks Chairman and CEO Judy McGrath. “Formalizing the Entertainment Group under Doug organizes us into three focused portfolio groups and highlights our overall strategy to provide the communities that form around our brands and content with immersive, multi-platform entertainment experiences.”

    The MTVN Entertainment Group brands deliver original content across television, online, and wireless to highly targeted male and adult-focused audiences. By targeting expanded demographics across its brands, the MTVN Entertainment Group offers advertisers more ways to reach their consumers, and gives MTVN the potential to establish additional revenue streams.

  • MTV Networks acquires Atom Entertainment for $200 million

    MTV Networks acquires Atom Entertainment for $200 million

    MUMBAI: MTV Networks (MTVN), a division of Viacom, Inc., has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Atom Entertainment, Inc., a portfolio of four leading online destinations for casual games, short films and video, for $200 million.

    Acquiring Atom Entertainment advances the company’s multiplatform strategy of building an engaging universe of music, gaming, entertainment, news and interactivity for targeted audiences. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter 2006.

    Atom Entertainment is a pioneer in online entertainment with four brands in both games and video: Shockwave.com and AddictingGames.com are two of the internet’s largest casual gaming sites, offering nearly 1,500 free and downloadable games. AtomFilms.com and AddictingClips.com are two premier film and video sites for short-form comedy, animation, drama and user-generated content.

    Adding Atom Entertainment to MTV Networks’ overall portfolio fits squarely with the company’s strategy of super-serving its targeted, global audiences with a relevant and innovative video experience online. Following MTVN’s recent purchases of XFIRE, Y2M, GameTrailers.com, IFILM and Neopets, this acquisition demonstrates the company’s continued commitment to being a premier multi-platform media company, uniquely positioned across every screen, states an official release.

    Viacom CEO Tom Freston says, “This acquisition is right on the money with our digital strategy. It adds great scale with users, improves our growing casual gaming position, and brings a world-class digital video library and a fantastic management team.”

    “Atom Entertainment is a best in class and dynamic property, with brands that have dedicated, passionate followers and content that resonates with our global audience,” adds MTV Networks chairman & CEO Judy McGrath. “This acquisition is in line with our business strategy of being a leader in the digital space and connecting with consumers on every platform and device they use.”

    Shockwave.com and AddictingGames.com are part of the large and rapidly growing business of online casual gaming and will complement MTVN’s roster of casual gaming communities, including Nick.com and Neopets. By including these two Atom sites, MTV Networks aspires to be a leader in the casual gaming business, with more than 50 million casual gamers playing more than 400 million games a month. In addition, AtomFilms.com and AddictingClips.com further expands the online video available across MTVN’s 24 broadband channels and the company’s user-generated content offerings, the release adds.

    “MTV Networks is a global leader in entertainment, and we are thrilled to join their family of brands,” says Atom Entertainment CEO Mika Salmi. “Leveraging MTVN’s platform will accelerate our growth and create new opportunities for both consumers and advertisers. We are proud of the business we’ve built and look forward to working together with MTVN to lead the way in the casual gaming and short-form video content business.”

  • MTV Networks’ MtvU to acquire online student newspaper network Y2M

    MTV Networks’ MtvU to acquire online student newspaper network Y2M

    MUMBAI: MtvU, MTV’s 24-hour college network and a division of Viacom Inc., has announced an agreement to acquire Boston-based Y2M, the parent company of an online advertising network of 450 campus newspaper websites.

    Adding Y2M to MtvU and to MTV Networks’ overall portfolio is another step in MTVN’s strategy to super-serve its audiences with relevant and innovative content, and to be a leader in the digital space.

    Following MTVN’s recent purchases of XFire, Gametrailers, IFilm and Neopets, this acquisition demonstrates the company’s continued commitment to being a premier multi- platform media company across every screen consumers use.

    The network reaches over five million college students via 450 online campus papers — the most powerful local media brand on campus — which serve as definitive on-campus information hubs, providing local news, sports, weather, event listings and much more.

    “This acquisition is in line with our business strategy of moving
    forward in the digital space and continually expanding our online portfolio of music, gaming, news and entertainment,” MTVN chairman and CEO Judy McGrath says. “Bringing MtvU and Y2M together is another avenue for us to be everywhere our audiences are, deepening our relationship with them and connecting them across every platform and device, all the time.”

    According to an official release, MtvU and Y2M will together create stronger multi-platform offerings, giving advertisers the most effective and comprehensive methods to connect with college students on-air, online, on the handset, in print and on campus. MtvU’s national advertisers will benefit from an increased ability to develop targeted, localized campaigns, and Y2M’s advertisers can capitalize on MtvU’s industry-leading expertise in emerging media platforms such as broadband video and mobile phones.

    Additionally, the combination of Y2M and MtvU will provide editors of student papers in the College Publisher network the ability to easily include rich media and a whole suite of new features on their online sites without impacting the editorial or design independence of each paper’s staff. New features that will become available to affiliates include enhanced community functionality, a vast library of emerging music, and the means to create university-specific online networks. MtvU will also offer the student papers access to the network’s base of more than 120 top-tier advertisers, enabling new ad sales and revenue sharing opportunities.

    “MtvU and Y2M complement each other perfectly — as the definitive college television and online student paper networks — and together, these two mediums are powerful connectors to college students across every touch point,” MTV president Christina Norman. “We can now provide new, innovative, turn-key methods for our advertisers to reach this powerful demographic and continue to find new ways to super-serve the college market.”

    “Student publications are the lifeblood of college campuses, and we’re looking forward to supporting them with new tools and advertising opportunities — empowering them to expand their offerings and audience, as well as improve their financial performance,” said MtvU GM Stephen Friedman. “Y2M’s unmatched network and stellar team are a welcome addition to MtvU and together we’ll unlock a myriad of new opportunities for college students and universities nationwide.”

    “The combination of Y2M and MtvU will advance the mission of college newspapers across the country and enhance their commercial opportunities with regional and national advertisers. Together, this will strengthen our ability to serve the unique needs of our 450 university newspaper partners, the 7,000 student journalists who rely on our publishing and hosting technology, and the two million registered online subscribers in the College Publisher network,” said Y2M president and co-founder John Fees, “We are extremely optimistic about the potential this holds for our college newspaper partners, Y2M and MtvU.”

    MtvU has grown rapidly since launching in early 2004, increasing distribution more than 35 per cent and tripling the size of its advertiser base.

    The network has also proliferated on multiple platforms, becoming the first MTV Networks channel distributed in its entirety on broadband and increasing on campus events to more than 300 a year. This transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2006.

  • MTV’s IFilm launches Fifa World Cup section

    MTV’s IFilm launches Fifa World Cup section

    MUMBAI: IFilm, the online destination for user-generated and professional short-form entertainment has launched a World Cup Soccer section, providing soccer enthusiasts and consumers alike with World Cup coverage.

    Delivering content for the full four weeks of the World Cup, the section offers video clips of the greatest World Cup and professional soccer moments, riots, celebrations and commercials as well as 2006 World Cup news, much of which will be unique to IFilm, according to an official release.

    IFilm will capture the World Cup Soccer news coverage and the online users will find video clips about their favourite soccer personalities, outrageous riots, enthusiastic celebrations and inspiring commercials as well as the most funny, peculiar and unusual events of the tournament.

    “Even if you have no interest in soccer, this is a showcase of uniquely compelling video that everyone can appreciate. Watching the World Cup through IFilm’s unique user generated perspective shows why this event is perceived as magical by billions around the globe,” IFilm VP content and programming Roger Jackson says.

    IFilm curates and programmes user generated video, music videos, movie clips, short films, TV clips, video game trailers, action sports content and its renowned ‘viral videos’ collections. 

    Through its broad network of distribution partners, IFilm content can be found on portals, social networks, blogs, consumer electronics devices, television networks, and mobile video services. The company recently launched its first television series, Web Junk 20 show, in collaboration with VH1. IFilm is owned and operated by MTV Networks.

     

  • MTV Network’s fourth annual presentation addresses industry needs

    MTV Network’s fourth annual presentation addresses industry needs

    MUMBAI: At its fourth annual joint upfront presentation, MTV Networks (MTVN) presented the advertising community with a multi-platform message underscoring how the company’s brands –MTV, MTV2, Vh1, Comedy Central, CMT, Logo, Nick at Nite, Spike TV, The N and TV Land — are best positioned to feed the needs of both consumers and advertisers in the digital media age.

    The presentation, led by MTVN chairman and CEO Judy McGrath, focused on how the company’s multiple platforms, global reach and unrivalled brand strength connect to audiences worldwide offer advertisers many opportunities to reach viewers of all ages and demographics.
    Held on 2 May in New York City, the event was highlighted by exclusive musical performances and special guest appearances by some of the biggest names in entertainment.

    Among those featured were Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jerry Seinfeld, Kanye West, Jamie Foxx, Lucy Liu, Jessica Alba, Jon Stewart, Mr. T, Miss America Jennifer Berry, The Hogans, Jesse McCartney, Miranda Lambert, Carlos Mencia, Chris Kattan, Ludacris, Stephen Colbert and Sarah Silverman among others, informs an official release.

    “MTV Networks is all about developing original content specifically for every platform, for television, wireless and broadband,” said McGrath. “In a lot of ways, the technology has finally caught up with us. We are the only pure play content company with a global footprint and a multi-media playbook.”

    Through its 122 channels, more than 100 Web sites, broadband channels and mobile content spanning 171 countries and territories, MTVN continues to set the standard for creating relevant content that connects with target audiences throughout the demographic spectrum and across the digital landscape.

    MTVN’s portfolio of brands is reaching its highest audience levels ever, at a time when more than 61 per cent of its core viewers consume their entertainment content on multiple screens.

    McGrath continued, “We have the most loyal and digitally wired audiences in the world, the very consumers who are driving the digital revolution. Our portfolio of brands is enjoying record audience levels because wherever our viewers are, we know how best to connect to them with original and relevant content. Our advertisers know this, and they can count on us to reach every demographic across the trusted and influential environments we create worldwide.”

    MTV Networks president and COO Michael Wolf remarked, “If there’s one thing that has become clear in this multiplatform world, it’s that brands matter, and we know that our audiences look to MTVN as the navigator through their choices. Because we listen to them, they’ve led us to other businesses that they find relevant, which means MTVN now has even more touch points for advertisers. We know that our audiences are into user-generated content, social networking and gaming, so we’ve made strategic acquisitions like IFilm, GameTrailers, NeoPets and, just last week, XFire.”

    MTVN’s 2006 Upfront presentation also took a look at the company’s first-of-its-kind Multiplatform Engagement and Transference Study. The study was a survey providing new insight into the effectiveness of advertising and the impact of entertainment brands that live across multiple platforms.

    The study, done in partnership with OTX, focused on quantifying audience “Engagement” — defined as a deep consumer connection to a media brand’s content — and “Transference”- – the degree that consumers extend the positive feelings they have for media brands to the advertisers associated with them.

    Among the survey’s key findings were:
    * Engagement and Transference multiply when media and advertising embrace multiple platforms;
    * Regular viewers of MTV Networks are more strongly engaged with and influenced by the advertisements they see versus viewers of broadcast or other cable networks
    * The MTV Networks’ brand family offers the strongest Transference of positive brand feelings not only on television, but also on broadband
    and online platforms.

    “We set out to do an expansive study to find how consumers react to multiplatform media brands as content providers and advertising vehicles,” said MTVN executive VP research Colleen Fahey Rush.

    “As programmers looking to forge the strongest relationship we can with our consumers, we’ve deployed content on all platforms, on every screen.”

    Fahey Rush also said, “We know that advertisers and agencies are looking for a compass in navigating this emerging digital world. Associating themselves with the strongest brands that are creating terrific opportunities to reach consumers in a well-rounded, multiplatform way looks to be an effective strategy, as proven by this study.”