ITV

Tag: MTV US

  • MTV US, Sony Pictures Entertainment join forces for the Film ‘This Is the End’

    MTV US, Sony Pictures Entertainment join forces for the Film ‘This Is the End’

    MUMBAI: MTV US Real World: Portlandshow has partnered with Hollywood studio Sony Pictures Entertainment to create a mini-episode to promote the film This Is The End, which hits theaters across the US on 12 June 2013. The film‘s stars Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, James Franco, Craig Robinson, and Jay Baruchel star in the short-form episodic titled, The Real World: This is the End Edition, which will air in a four-part story arc on MTV during the Real World: Portland finale and reunion on 12 June.
     
    An uncensored and extended webisode is currently available on ThisIsTheEnd.MTV.com. Viacom Media Networks executive VP integrated marketing Dario Spina said, "MTV‘s Studio Integrated Marketing and Production team continues to deliver entertaining and truly custom, co-branded content for our partners; and our collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment demonstrates that capability by seamlessly uniting the hilarious This is the End cast, within the themes characterised in MTV‘s longest running franchise, The Real World.

    "This creative and comedic content is not only entertaining, but travels across many platforms to connect with audiences where they are."
     
    In support of the film‘s opening week, The Real World: This is the End Edition‘ campaign will air spots on MTV and MTV.com supported by social promotion across MTV‘s Facebook, MTV‘s Twitter, and MTV‘s Tumblr.
     
    Inspired by the film‘s End of the world theme, the cast will face off in a real world setting with Averey-Lee Jane and Joi Niemeyer from the Real World: Portland cast. The Real World: Portland takes place in a city known for expressing individuality and the roommate‘s bring their own unique personalities into the house.
     
    Similarly the This Is The End actors "stop being polite and start getting real," exposing all their quirky behaviours under one roof – paying homage to moments and surprises that people have come to expect from the MTV franchise.
     
    This Is The End follows six friends trapped in a house after a series of strange and catastrophic events devastate Los Angeles. As the world unravels outside, dwindling supplies and cabin fever threaten to tear apart the friendships inside. Eventually, they are forced to leave the house, facing their fate and the true meaning of friendship and redemption.

  • 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 US floats mobile media division

    MTV US floats mobile media division

    MUMBAI: With a view to building upon its wireless initiatives and its efforts in creating original content for mobile US, broadcaster MTV has created MTVN Mobile Media.

    This new unit is dedicated to growing the company’s mobile entertainment business.

    MTVN Mobile Media will be responsible for managing mobile partnerships and content distribution for the company, and will support the teams at the individual MTVN brands in developing a wide portfolio of mobile content and applications–including personalisation, entertainment, information and messaging products.

    The unit will be led by Greg Clayman, who has been promoted to MTVN Mobile Media senior VP. MTVN Mobile Media reports into MTVN Global Digital Media, led by its president Mika Salmi, and MTVN Affiliate Sales and Marketing, led by its president Nicole Browning.

    MTV Networks chairman and CEO Judy McGrath says, “Connecting with our consumers on every platform they love is at the heart of our digital strategy. MTVN Mobile Media will help our brands take it even further in distribution and product development, and it will expand our global wireless footprint even more, so the communities around our brands can access our content anywhere.”

    Salmi says, “Our audiences lead an on-demand lifestyle and our brands deliver the best pop-culture, music, comedy and entertainment programming on the handset. With MTVN Mobile Media, we’re poised to deliver even more compelling mobile content and further deepen our connection with our viewers.”

    MTV says that it publishes more than 600 clips and 30 hours of video per month in the United States alone, across all major carriers and leading MVNOs. Globally, the company has partnerships with 68 carriers and connections with more than one billion subscribers, making MTVN the largest wireless content provider of any entertainment company.

    Browning says, “We are clearly primed to take our programming to the next level, and as we build on our fast-growing mobile video business and add more channels, more content, and more distribution around the world, we will continue to focus on mobile games, personalization products such as ringtones and graphics, and mobile web site development.”

    The MTVN mobile programming spanning every genre of entertainment and engaging nearly every demographic includes:

    • Original made-for-mobile programs, including MTV’s Sway’s Hip Hop Owner’s Manual, Comedy Central’s Clip Joint and VH1’s Celebhead.

    • Extensions from such television franchises as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; Laguna Beach; SpongeBob SquarePants; VH1’s Best Week Ever; Logo’s Noah’s Arc.

    • Original animation, such as Usavitch and Lightman from Flux in Japan and MTV International’s “Wulffmorgenthaler”;

    • “Making of,” behind-the-scenes and after-shows developed exclusively for the wireless medium;

    • MTV, VH1 and CMT music video premieres and exclusive music performances from such franchises as VH1’s Live@VH1.com and CMT’s Studio 330 Sessions and simulcasts of tentpole properties like The MTV Europe Music Awards;

    • Content highlighting social issues important to MTVN audiences, such as MTVN International’s HIV/Aids prevention campaign, Staying Alive;

    • The largest selection of stand-up comedy on mobile, made available by Comedy Central.

    MTVN also has forged new ground with a number of notable industry firsts: Nickelodeon was the first kids’ television network to offer text messaging promoted on-air. Spike TV Mobile, in partnership with Amp’d Mobile, was the first network to stream a sporting event live on the handset. VH1 is defining the standard for television/mobile integration with Mobile Junk 20, an extension of the “Web Junk 20” television show that seamlessly migrates viewers from the television set, to the handset and back to the television. And Neopets introduced the first entertainment-based web-to-wireless application of its kind, letting Neopets members engage with their Neopets characters, stories and activities on their handsets just as they would online.

  • HBO dominates Creative Arts Emmys

    HBO dominates Creative Arts Emmys

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster HBO topped the list of winners at the 58th Annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards with 17 golden statuettes. Among broadcast networks, ABC led the field with 10.
    The ceremony was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles a few days ago. HBO’s show Elizabeth I got five trophies. Baghdad, ER and Rome got four awards each.

    The Creative Arts Emmy Awards are dedicated primarily to the many essential crafts and technical disciplines involved in television production-including picture editing, sound editing, sound mixing, special visual effects, cinematography, art direction, music, stunts and more. Awards are also handed out for animation, variety series, reality series and four acting categories.

    The award for Guest Actress in a Drama Series went to Patricia Clarkson for Six Feet Under; Guest Actress in a Comedy Series went to Cloris Leachman for Malcolm in the Middle; Guest Actor in a Drama Series went to Christian Clemenson for Boston Legal and Guest Actor in a Comedy Series went to Leslie Jordan for Will And Grace.

    The Governors Award, which is given to individuals or organisations committed to important social causes, went to mtvU, MTV US’ college network, for the outlet’s Sudan Campaign-which for the past two years has been informing and empowering college students to help stop the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.

    The Children’s Programme category resulted in a tie. Awards went to both the Disney Channel movie High School Musical (which also won the award for choreography) and the HBO production I Have Tourette’s But Tourette’s Doesn’t Have Me.

  • MTV US, Kaiser Family Foundation launch interactive media community to take Aids fight to the next level

    MTV US, Kaiser Family Foundation launch interactive media community to take Aids fight to the next level

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster MTV and the Kaiser Family Foundation have announced the creation of Think HIV. This is a multi-platform, interactive community for this first generation of Americans who have lived their entire lives during the Aids epidemic.

    This initiative is part of their Sexual Health campaign with support from the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (Nastad), WebMD.nd WebMD.

    The initiative seeks to provide a platform to foster dialogue and active engagement on the topic of HIV/Aids and especially its impact on young people, as well as provide information and resources to young people about HIV/AIDS. According to UNAIDS, about half of new HIV infections worldwide are among those under the age of 25.

    MTVN Music Group president entertainment Brian Graden says, “The MTV audience has never known a day without HIV, and young people around the world are at the center of the epidemic. We have a long history of educating and empowering our audience on this issue, and while progress has been made, there is still work to be done. think HIV will offer our viewers a new, interactive and safe place to learn about and fight it.

    Think HIV will have several components. One of them is a documentary. MTV and Kaiser – will produce Think HIV. This is a documentary in which young people themselves tell the story of how their generation has been impacted by the virus. Part memorial, part testimony, these short vignettes filmed entirely by infected or affected young people will paint a raw, intimate, and informative portrait of the epidemic’s impact on their lives. The half hour show will premiere on MTV on 18 August 2006—the last day of the International AIDS Conference in Toronto.

    Then there is the think HIV Online Community. This will serve as an interactive community that will launch following the premiere of the documentary . The site will be an engaging and interactive, safe space for young people to share their personal stories through videos, photos and blogs and text about HIV/Aids. The user-friendly site will also provide easy access to information and resources about HIV/AIDS including prevention and testing as well as how to get involved in the global fight – including access to health information, resources and the online community at WebMD.

    Think HIV builds on both MTV and Kaiser’s long-term commitment to educating and empowering young people in the fight against HIV/AIDS, in part through their 10-year partnership, currently called think: Sexual Health. To date, the Emmy and Peabody Award winning partnership has garnered more than 100 million viewers to its documentaries, 1.2 million calls to the toll-free hotline and has distributed more than 450,000 informational guides.

  • MTV US unveils student-developed viral video game

    MTV US unveils student-developed viral video game

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster MTV has announced that mtvU, its college network, in partnership with the Reebok Human Rights Foundation and the International Crisis Group have launched a viral video game.

    The game was conceived and developed by a group of digital activists from the University of Southern California. mtvU had launched the Darfur Digital Activist competition — “Darfur is Dying.

    The viral, online video game aims to spread awareness of the genocide taking place in the Darfur region of Sudan. It looks to serve as a call to action, and further empower college students to help stop the killing.

    Darfur is Dying is available for play at www.darfurisdying.com. Gold medallist Joey Cheek in February donated his $40,000 Olympic prize purse to relief efforts in Sudan and helped spark additional donations approaching $1 million.

    The game is a narrative-based simulation where the user, from the perspective of a displaced Darfurian, negotiates forces that threaten the survival of his or her refugee camp. Humanitarian aid workers with extensive on the ground experience in Darfur advised the students throughout the development process, helping to ensure the game accurately captured and was sensitive to the refugees’ plight.

    Darfur is Dying was designed to engage users and provide a window into the refugee experience — offering a faint glimpse of what it’s like for the more than 2.5 million who have been internally displaced by the crisis in Sudan. Calls to action are a fundamental part of the game and the user is presented with several opportunities during game play to become involved.

    Kiosks will be set up across the US where people can play the game, send it to others and take immediate action to help end the crisis. mtvU will also be exhibiting the student-filmed documentary Translating Genocide: Three Students Journey to Sudan. The film captures the devastation of the genocide in Darfur and was entirely filmed by college students.

    MTV adds that several artists and student groups from across the US participated in the online launch of the game a couple of days ago.

    mtvU GM Stephen Friedman says, “College students were among the first to cry out for an end to the atrocities in Darfur and this game is another way mtvU is serving as their
    megaphone. Darfur is Dying is a powerful tool college students can use to help stop the genocide in Sudan and we applaud the USC team for their important contribution to this
    critical cause.”

  • Cox to partner with MTV US on HD channel

    Cox to partner with MTV US on HD channel

    MUMBAI: MTV in the US and Cox Communications have announced a co-branded retail partnership that will promote MHD: Music High-Definition Channel.

    This is MTV’s high-definition music channel. The retail partnership will include in-store and online promotions tied to consumer retail locations around the US. The partnership will also push Cox HD Service, where Cox services are sold

    The retail partnership is designed to not only generate awareness about MHD and Cox HD service, but to also provide a convenient location where customers can learn about the technology, service and programming available.

    VHI GM Tom Calderone says, “Working with Cox Communications, the first provider to launch MHD, allows us to bring television viewers a high-definition experience from the best known music brands in the business. Our retail partnership furthers our commitment to offer Cox customers’ in-depth information about high-definition television in a retail setting where they can get answers and take advantage of promotional opportunities.”

    Cox senior VP marketing Joe Rooney says, “Live concerts and music are among the top reasons customers want high-definition service. MHD content especially appeals to a newer, younger HD consumer who is driven by music and gaming. Our retail partnership is a great way to truly demonstrate the high-definition experience to this audience by offering a ‘front row seat’ to some of the most exciting live music events on television. It also gives us a platform to communicate to these consumers why Cox is the best choice for HD service.”

    Cox will offer the channel to over 80 per cent of its subscribers next year. MHD features a high-definition music programming, including MTV Unplugged: Alicia Keys, VH1 Storytellers: Green Day, CMT Crossroads: John Fogerty and Keith Urban as well as original concert series such as Music with Altitude featuring the Goo Goo Dolls.

  • MTV, Rolling Stone team for reality series

    MTV, Rolling Stone team for reality series

    MUMBAI: Amateur journalists will vie for a year long position at Rolling Stone magazine in a new reality series for MTV US.

    Contestants will work with the veteran music magazine’s senior editors to develop their writing skills and secure interviews with artists, actors and politicians.

    Rolling Stone founder and publish Jann Wenner says, “Throughout our history we have seen the careers of some of the nation’s most notable journalists flourish, including Cameron Crowe and the late Hunter S. Thompson. We are anxious to meet the candidates and welcome them into the Rolling Stone family as they embark on their professional careers.”

    MTV executive VP programming Lois Curren says, “The series will capture the drama and excitement of the fast-paced world of Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone has long been an incubator for top journalists, which makes this an amazing opportunity for aspiring writers.”

    The show will be taped in New York from June through August and is expected to premiere later this year.

  • MTV US & MSN team for reality show created by students

    MTV US & MSN team for reality show created by students

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster MTV’s 24-hour college network mtvU in collaboration with MSN and Boston University (BU), will unveil Roller Palace.

    This is a comedy pilot entirely created and produced by students of BU’s Film and Television Department and the School of Theatre Arts at the College of Fine Arts.

    The pilot is the culmination of a union between mtvU, MSN and BU and marks the completion of a nearly 15 month journey. In January 2005, students in BU’s Advanced Television Writing course began pitching ideas and scripts to Professor Paul Schneider, a television director of shows such as Beverly Hills 90210 and Jag.

    At the end of the semester, the best sitcom ideas were presented to celebrity judges including E! Networks president and CEO Ted Harbert, NBC comedy development head Cheryl Dolans, and Fox television president Gary Newman. When Roller Palace was selected as the consensus choice, the show’s creators set off to develop, write, cast, produce and star in the original sitcom pilot.

    Roller Palace is about a pampered Manhattan debutante whose father has just been jailed for insider trading and whose mother is planning to marry her high school sweetheart — a New Jersey hot dog stand proprietor. The turn of
    events flips the spoiled daughter’s life upside down, leaving her stuck as a roller skating waitress on the Jersey Shore.

    Production of the pilot was made possible by MSN, which also lent back-end tech support throughout the production process. BU students used MSN technology, including MSN Messenger, while casting, developing, shooting and editing the pilot, and organically integrated the MSN brand into the final project. Professor Paul Schneider commented, “The student crew on Roller Palace had a priceless opportunity to create a television pilot from scratch — a demanding project that had all the challenges, complications and crises they will encounter in the professional world.”

    MSN branded content group manager Kathy Fiander “We are committed to helping college students and young people realise their dreams, and it’s been a pleasure working with mtvU and BU to facilitate this innovative educational opportunity. We congratulate the BU students on their achievement and also feel they did a great job of capturing how MSN Messenger can help users stay connected to those that matter most.”