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Tag: MTV

  • MTV International launches multi-platform film competition for Aids awareness

    MTV International launches multi-platform film competition for Aids awareness

    MUMBAI: As part of MTV International’s ongoing HIV and Aids prevention campaign – Staying Alive, the company announced its first film competition, 48fest.

    It will be aired next month across all of MTV’s worldwide platforms – on air, online and on mobile phones.

    Held at the XVI International Aids conference in Toronto from 14-16 August, the competition gave 48 youths 48-hours to write, shoot, edit and deliver a short film of three minutes on HIV and Aids grassroots efforts. The winner will be crowned at the 48fest Awards Ceremony held at the Masonic Temple in Toronto on 17 August.

    MTV International VP, public affairs Georgia Arnold says, “48fest gives young filmmakers the unique opportunity of telling their own stories about HIV and Aids in their own voice. At MTV, we believe one of the strongest ways to deliver HIV and Aids prevention messages is to empower our viewers to talk about HIV and Aids, enable them to use their creativity, and give them a platform to share their voice with their peers. In this case, the platform includes our numerous TV channels, broadband services, websites and mobile TV channels located throughout the world.”

    MTV in Canada senior VP, GM Brad Schwartz says, “MTV in Canada is dedicated to discussing issues that are important to all Canadians. HIV and Aids prevention is one of those issues. We are extremely proud to be hosting this event. It is an exciting first step in our quest to create innovative and new ways to discuss and promote awareness and prevention of HIV and Aids in Canada.”

    The 48fest competition will be comprised of eight teams of six filmmakers from all over the world, who are also youth delegates to Aids 2006. Each team will be assigned to create a film that focuses on one of eight HIV and Aids-themed subjects, including condom use, delaying or abstaining from sex, machismo, testing, violence against women, discrimination, stigma, and vulnerable populations.

    The teams will each be accompanied by a professional Canadian filmmaker, who will serve as a mentor and will help the contestants to sharpen their skills across all areas of filmmaking.

    All of the shorts will be screened by the contestants, their mentors and Aids 2006 delegates before the awards ceremony to be held at Toronto. The films will be critiqued by a panel of judges including MTV US president Christina Norman, Canadian-born rock artist Fefe Dobson and CTV president of programming Susanne Boyce.

    The 48fest films will be made available for broadcast across MTV’s worldwide network of 50 TV channels, 14 mobile TV channels, 18 broadband services and 44 websites. In addition, the shorts will be compiled into a 30-minute documentary, Staying Alive – 48fest (working title), that will showcase the films as well as behind-the-scenes footage as the young filmmakers progress through their many stages of film production.

    The documentary will also air across MTV International’s TV and broadband channels. Offered rights-free and cost-free to third party broadcasters, the shorts and documentary will be available for worldwide broadcast in September.

    In addition, during the Awards Ceremony on 17 August, US based MTV News and Docs – in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation – will premiere Think HIV. This is a documentary in which young people from across the US tell their story of how HIV and Aids has affected their generation. Part memorial, part testimony, these short video vignettes –filmed entirely by infected and/or affected young people – paints a portrait of the epidemic’s impact on their lives. The half-hour show will make its television debut on MTV in the US and Canada the following day.

    It is the first such documentary created by MTV and Kaiser that features 100 per cent user-generated content produced by young people on digital video recorders. Think HIV is part of think MTV, a community where young people get informed, connect to each other, express themselves and take action on the issues important to them, their community and their world.

  • MTV looks to stay ahead of digital curve in India

    MTV looks to stay ahead of digital curve in India

    MUMBAI: Even as the big media companies gather their forces for the upcoming battles for mind share in the new digital world, each are going about it in different ways. The aim is common to all of them though – multiplatform strategies of building an engaging universe of music, gaming, entertainment, news and interactivity for targeted audiences.

    And, while India may not be where the major digital battles are fought any time in the near future, MTV for one is attempting to stay ahead of the curve and preparing for more change by introducing new mobile and online services for the ‘networked generation’.

    For MTV Networks International senior vice president (digital media) Gideon Bierer, with opportunities unfolding, the country is approaching an inflexion point as regards the digital content delivery story. Bierer believes that new digital services will begin to be introduced in a significant way from next year on but it could take anywhere between three to five years for it to get serious penetration in India.

    Queried about revenue streams, Bierer said that like in television subscriptions and advertising would form the main component and digital services also offered revenue opportunities through transactions.

    For MTV, the aim is clearly to be the first mover in the digital space and helping it respond to changing tastes and compete with the internet and downloading could be channels like Flux, where the schedule is driven by the public. Flux, the multi-platform social-networking digital service originated by MTV Networks International in Japan last June, is launching in the UK & Ireland markets on 6 September. It is also being introduced in Italy around the same time.

    Flux is positioned as a digital community and content integrated youth service that enables viewers to access short videos and music through their mobiles or computers, make recommendations to others and provide feedback. The channel will be aiming to attract the key 13 to 34-year-old demographic.

    There is also the hybrid channel MTV Overdrive launched last April. Available through mtv.com, the initiative is aimed at entertaining viewers with both a linear viewing experience and video on demand capabilities in one web-based application. MTV Overdrive’s lineup features news, music, on tv and movies among the services it offers.

    Now while all this sounds very nice, what a certain Rupert Murdoch would have to say about all this remains to be seen. For in the west where the digital skirmishes are already on in full swing, it is News Corp’s Myspace that is creating the most frenzy among the demographic that MTV has “owned” for nigh on 25 years. In India, only time will tell whether MTV is able to square up to the Star juggernaught, which has already declared aggressive intent in this domain.

  • Viacom, Adobe forge alliance to deliver web, mobile content

    Viacom, Adobe forge alliance to deliver web, mobile content

    MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Viacom and Adobe Systems have announced a strategic alliance to develop and deliver Viacom’s branded content using the Adobe Engagement Platform.

    Through this agreement, Adobe will become Viacom’s preferred technology provider for rich media authoring tools and interactive online video solutions. This will enable Viacom to deliver content from its television, motion picture and digital properties to online and mobile audiences in compelling ways. The two companies will also work together in developing new media applications leveraging Viacom’s exclusive content and using Adobe’s next-generation developer tools and ubiquitous cross-platform client software.

    The Adobe Engagement Platform is a versatile foundation for capturing and holding audiences’ attention through more active and effective applications and media. Through the combined reach of the Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash Player clients, which are installed on more than 600 million connected PCs and devices worldwide, the Platform enables businesses to connect with customers, no matter which medium they choose.

    Viacom president and CEO Tom Freston says, “This partnership with Adobe is an important step towards ensuring that our company has the most robust and state of the art online and mobile video applications. We are very excited to be working so closely with Adobe, which is a real innovator with a great track record”.

    Viacom will utilise Flash video as an interactive online video solution and provide Viacom-branded content to mobile phone handsets via FlashCast™ channels. Flash video delivers secure, high-quality seamless video experiences. FlashCast is a flexible client-server solution that effectively delivers rich, intuitive branded experiences on mobile devices. Using Adobe technology, Viacom will also develop entirely new applications leveraging content from Viacom properties including MTV, Comedy Central, Spike TV and Nickelodeon.

    Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen says, “Adobe and Viacom share a vision for how to bring Viacom’s world-class programming and content to online and mobile audiences in innovative ways. This relationship and the Adobe Engagement Platform will accelerate Viacom’s ability to create and deliver new kinds of digital entertainment across different mediums, regardless of which operating system, browser or device viewers are using. Our Engagement Platform is continuing to gain momentum as a powerful means of reaching and connecting with consumers on their terms, anytime, anyplace.”

  • ‘Ghoom’ to premier on MTV on17 June

    ‘Ghoom’ to premier on MTV on17 June

    After a successful few weeks at the box office, ‘Ghoom’, MTV’s first film will premier on the channel on June 17, 2006 at 8 pm. Produced under the banner of MTV Fully Faltoo Films, this 45-minute comedy-action flick will have you rolling on the floor – we promise!

     

    ‘Ghoom’, with its wickedly twisted comic plot has a stellar cast comprising Sumeet Raghavan known for his role in ‘Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai’, Ajay Gehi of ‘Maqbool’ fame, Gaurav Kapoor, who’s done shows like ‘Dil Kya Chahta Hai’ along with Benika and Purbi Joshi. With talent like that, the plot is far from simple – it’s a laugh-a-second rollercoaster that is packed with hilarious detailing round every corner with incredibly funny cops-and-robbers chases, absurd wardrobe changes and silly romantic scenes … need we go on?

     

    ‘Ghoom’ is about this super-cop (read as blooper-cop) who wants to nab a gang of 5 biker thieves, who also double up as pizza delivery guys, to hide their real vocation. Being the fast-ones-on-fast machines, they always escape our super-cop. So, bullying someone (who is as fast as them), into joining him seems the only option left for our super-cop, to be able to foil their next robbery. Thus enters this mechanic, who turns out to be a bigger idiot than the cop. The mega robbery (that’s supposed to happen at a well known dance bar) finally turns into a riot of idiotic incidents.

     

    So, watch out for ‘Ghoom’…only on MTV! Enjoy!

  • MTV Asia Pacific postpones first edition of Movie Awards

    MTV Asia Pacific postpones first edition of Movie Awards

    MUMBAI: MTV Asia Pacific has postponed production of the inaugural MTV Asia Movie Awards due to scheduling issues.

    MTV is in the process of strategising future plans for the event with its business constituents including the Singapore Tourism Board, sponsors, and the international and regional film and music industries. The awards were supposed to have been held in October.

    MTV Asia Pacific president Nigel Robbins stated, “The decision to postpone the MTV Asia Movie Awards was not taken lightly, and we are examining ways to deliver a show that is second to none at a later date. Our first priority to our audience, sponsors and the film and record industry is to deliver a top-notch, star-studded MTV event.”

    Currently, there are local versions of the MTV Movie Awards staged in Indonesia, Russia and the US. MTV says that the franchise is one of the most popular of its tentpole events, with its unique twist to ‘traditional’ movie kudofests by offering off-the-wall categories appealing to MTV’s audience such as Best Kiss and Best Fight.

  • William Holt to oversee MTV US’ digital initiatives

    William Holt to oversee MTV US’ digital initiatives

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster MTV has announced that Courtney William Holt is the group’s executive VP of digital music and media.

    A recognised expert in the convergence of new media, music and marketing, Holt will oversee digital initiatives for MTV’s Music and Logo Group, including the MTV: Music Television, VH1 and CMT music brands; Logo, the network for the LGBT audience; and Urge, the digital music service recently launched to strong industry support.

    Holt will partner with the teams who direct the day-to-day operations of each brand’s online and wireless properties such as MTV’s Overdrive, VH1’s VSpot, mtvU’s Uber and CMT’s soon-to-launch Loaded.

    Holt joins MTV Networks from Interscope Geffen A&M, where he was executive vice president of new media, creative and strategic marketing. At Interscope Geffen A&M, Holt embraced emerging technology to break new marketing ground, galvanizing communities of fans around top musical artists.

    At MTV, Holt will be responsible for continuing to expand the reach of MTV Networks’ premier music brands, engaging audiences across a spectrum of touchpoints – on air, online, on the handset and through its new digital music service.

    MTV US president Van Toffler says, “It’s only fitting to have a creative music executive like Courtney – who started his career producing videos that appeared on our channels – join our stable of talent. Courtney’s background and experience is a perfect fit for our brands, which deliver innovative short- and long-form music entertainment that connects with our audience on many screens.

  • Indian TV channels to show solidarity with Mumbai blast victims

    Indian TV channels to show solidarity with Mumbai blast victims

    MUMBAI: Over 30 Indian television channels will simulcast a two-minute film The Voices of India on 18 July at 6 pm and 9 pm. The aim is to show solidarity with the victims of the serial train blasts that hit Mumbai last week.

    It is for the first time that television channels like DD, Star, Zee, Sony, Times, ETV, MTV, TV 18 network, NDTV and Janmat will get together to air the film.

    The Voices of India encapsulates thoughts expressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after visiting the bomb blast victims. Sachin Tendulkar, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Fardeen Khan, Anil Kapoor, Yash Chopra, Preity Zinta, Karan Johar and Nana Patekar also feature in the film.

    Designed as a Campaign for India, it is the citizens response to the terrorist attack on Mumbai.

  • Rolls Royce and MTV to fight HIV and Aids

    Rolls Royce and MTV to fight HIV and Aids

    MUMBAI: Rolls-Royce has teamed up with the international music channel MTV to raise $25,000 for the Staying Alive Foundation, a global organisation dedicated to preventing the spread of HIV and Aids.

    At last year’s MTV European Music Awards in Lisbon, Rolls-Royce provided a new Phantom and invited artists to autograph the back seat. By the end of the event, more than 20 celebrities had signed, including Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay (Chris Martin pictured below), Nelly Furtado, Craig David, Bob Geldof, Shakira, Formula 1 driver Jenson Button, Foo Fighters and Borat, to name a few.

    Subsequently, the seat was removed from the car and turned into a sofa by up-and-coming furniture designer Nick Gutfreund. The seat was then bought by Hard Rock for $25,000 with Rolls-Royce donating the money to MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation.

    “We are delighted to have been involved with MTV and Hard Rock on such an innovative project,” said Rolls-Royce chairman Ian Robertson. “And one that has raised a considerable sum of money to assist Staying Alive in their continued efforts to prevent the spread of HIV and Aids.”

    MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation (www.staying-alive.org) promotes and supports young people everywhere who are protecting themselves and their communities against the multiple threats posed by the spread of HIV and Aids. The Foundation does this by presenting the Staying Alive Award annually, to young individuals and youth groups who are focused on stopping the spread of HIV and who have demonstrated the potential to become future leaders.

  • MTV to celebrate anniversary of Live8 concert globally

    MTV to celebrate anniversary of Live8 concert globally

    MUMBAI: One year on from the historic Live8 concert, MTV Networks International is celebrating the first anniversary of the momentous music event by airing a new special this month called Live8: What A Difference A Day Made. This is being done through a partnership with Network Live. An estimated three billion people all from all over the world watched Live8, billed as the greatest show on earth, where the crème of the world’s music artists came together to perform with one message – make poverty history.

    MTV will premiere the 90-minute special reaching 480 million households around the world in major markets including US, Japan, UK, France, Germany and Latin America. In addition to providing viewers the chance to relive the music spectacular of Live8, Bob Geldof will introduce the programme by giving a retrospective on how far we have travelled since the historic event and why it’s important to remember one year later.

    The programme is a selection of highlights from most inspirational performances and presentations that took place across 10 cities including London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Ontario, Toyko, Johannesburg, Philadelphia, Moscow and Edinburgh. Live8: What A Difference A Day Made relives the moments when U2, Coldplay, Black Eyed Peas, Green Day, Madonna, Youssou N’Dour and Dido, Robbie Williams, Pink Floyd, R.E.M., Paul McCartney and others captured the hope and optimism of the world and rallied the crowds to fight against poverty in Africa and to lobby the G8 leaders to makes promises on debt relief, Aids drugs, trade tariffs and education.

    The special will air on MTV’s channels in the lead up the G8 Summit 2006 on 15 July in St Petersburg, Russia where G8 leaders are expected to discuss international issues such as global energy security, infectious diseases and education. Live8 was executive produced by Network Live CEO Kevin Wall.

    In 2005 in the week leading to the G8 Summit and Live8 concerts, UK Prime Minister and chair of the G8 summit Tony Blair and Live8’s leading force Bob Geldof took tough questions on African poverty, debt relief and US President George Bush’s policies on climate control from MTV viewers representing 24 countries around the world – including seven African nations.

  • MTV charts a Viacom growth path for India

    MTV charts a Viacom growth path for India

    MUMBAI: Freeing of cash flow and focus. That primarily is what the split of Viacom into two entities at the beginning of the year means in practical terms for the MTV Networks India team headed by Amit Jain.

    What Jain has before him is a five-year growth plan that sees India contributing “significantly” to the global revenues of Viacom Inc. That Viacom president and CEO Tom Freston is an “Indophile” seems to be a huge plus as far as Jain is concerned, particularly because India, South America and Europe (in that order) are seen as the key growth markets for the media conglomerate over the next five years.Questioned as to how and where he saw revenues coming considering that music channels have been steadily losing share of voice and mind in the broadcast space, Jain had this to offer.

    According to Jain, broadcast would remain the key revenue source for his network in India but its share would go down to two thirds in the course of the next five years. The remaining one third revenues will come from new media platforms like mobile and broadband and also from the movies business (Paramount’s acquisition of Dreamworks will mean significant ramp ups on the animation side as well, particularly as India is seen as a strong outsource hub).
    MTV BRAND TO BE LEVERAGED

    The three channels that MTV has launched in India will pretty much set the template as far as the network’s broadcast script unfolds.

    First there is Brand MTV, which will be at the centre of a slew of undertakings ranging from market activation, creative solutions, youth understanding, client branding. The central premise of all this is that “Viacom brand solutions can be devised and tailored to unique brand needs”.

    NICK TO GET MAJOR PUSH

    From a long term channel growth perspective, it is Nick that will provide the momentum, not MTV. And while Jain admits that the kids channel in his network, despite early mover advantage, has singularly failed to make an impact, he believes that is all about to change. And sooner rather than later.

    The first task, according to Jain, is to get back to the basics and get the programming, scheduling, packaging and distribution on track. Once these issues have been sorted out and “cleaned up”, then budgets for driving the channel forward will not be an issue, he asserts.

    The fact of the matter though is that a home grown channel like UTV’s Hungama and an international powerhouse like Disney, despite having entered the Indian market years after Nick first made its debut, have all gone ahead. So its going to require a committed and sustained effort for Nick to be anywhere in the reckoning. Whether Viacom will seriously show Nick the money is the moot point.

    VH1 WILL ULTIMATELY BE A DTH STORY

    It’s been 18 months since international lifestyle and music channel Vh1, which targets an older TG, launched in India and the management is more than satisfied with its performance, asserts Jain. Vh1 is on target both as regards advertising and distribution revenues, he points out. “By the end of the year (Viacom has a January to December fiscal) Vh1 will hit break even,” says Jain.

    But Jain does admit that Vh1 and other niche offerings from the MTV Networks stable like Comedy Central, CMT: Country Music Television, Spike TV and the like can only offer any real returns if they are on addressable platforms. For these channels therefore, it will be the rollout of DTH in the country that will likely determine their arrival.

    MOVIES AND NEW MEDIA

    Jain’s reference to the movies ties in with what Freston had to say while speaking at the Ficci Frames media convention in Mumbai earlier this year. Which was that Viacom was looking to co-produce films in India instead of merely exporting its films in to the country through its partner United International Pictures (UIP).

    The India movies picture remains a hazy one at present though, considering that about the only products of note have been the spoofs dished out by MTV’s movie making unit (and aptly titled) Fully Faltoo Films. Its most recent offering Ghoom, which was a spoof on last year’s action hit Dhoom from the Yash Raj Films banner, only serves to emphasise the quirky nature of MTV India’s movie offerings.

    As for mobile and broadband, it will depend again on bandwidth capacities that telecom players in particular will be able to roll out.

    While MTV Asia Pacific has been able to enter into a collaboration with Korean multimedia developer Wizmax to launch a customizable on-demand music and entertainment broadband and mobile community platform in Korea called MTV BoomBox, something similar in India looks to be a while away.

    Having said that, it is MTV BoomBox that will serve as a model for customisable MTV platforms in the broadband and wireless content services arena in India as well.