MTV Networks Announces Development Slate of New Targeted Websites

MTV Networks Announces Development Slate of New Targeted Websites

Wave of New Web Launches Expands MTVN's Global Online Portfolio to More Than 300 Sites by End of 2007

NEW YORK, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- MTV Networks (MTVN), a unit of Viacom (NYSE:VIA) (NYSE:VIA.B) , today announced a development slate of two dozen targeted websites that will allow users to get closer to their favorite music, entertainment, comedy and pop culture content. The move furthers MTVN's commitment to its vertical entertainment strategy, through which the company is launching hundreds of websites that provide rich entertainment experiences and increase engagement among its core demographic audiences. Bringing MTVN's global website portfolio to more than 300 sites by year's end, this new slate reflects the company's 360-degree development process across all platforms.

Debuting in Q3 and Q4 2007, the websites will hail from across MTVN's stable of brands and include such titles as COMEDY CENTRAL's TheDailyShow.com; MTV's Dances From Tha' 'Hood; Nickelodeon's iCarly.com; VH1's VH1EyeCandy.com; GameTrailers.com's WikiCheats.com; Logo's Alien Boot Camp and MTVN International's MTV European Music Awards & COMEDY CENTRAL Germany's Comedy Blackboard, among others.

"Our targeted sites provide rich environments that connect like-minded fans to one another, which ultimately strengthens their connections to our brands, and enhances the value proposition for our advertisers," said Judy McGrath, Chairman and CEO, MTVN. "Our strategy is to keep moving beyond our core branded sites to invite fans to go as deep as they'd like with our content, and the interests they're most passionate about."

Each of the MTVN brands is developing sites that either expand upon popular TV franchises or are inspired by topics relevant to their respective audiences. Empowering users to discover, curate, edit and upload their favorite content, MTVN has already launched scores of targeted websites across its brands, including COMEDY CENTRAL's Indecision2008.com; MTV's YoMomma.tv and SuperSweet16.com; Logo's HappiestGayCouple.com; VH1's BestWeekEver.tv and VSPOT Brazil; TurboNick in Germany and Latin America; new MTV sites in Australia, Colombia, France, Finland, Norway & Romania; and a multi-lingual site for MTV Switch to raise awareness about climate change, among others. These new sites have helped increase traffic across MTVN's global online portfolio from 76 million unique visitors in January 2007 to more than 91 million unique visitors in July 2007 (comScore Media Metrix).

"We're taking an open approach with our content on the Web, allowing our consumers to share, embed, influence and interact with everything they see on-air and online," said Mika Salmi, President, Global Digital Media, MTVN. "Our viewers become producers, consumers and participants because we let them cast themselves online for our TV shows, upload content and videos, or actually become their favorite cast members through our virtual worlds."

Today's announcement signals the continued momentum of MTVN's vertical entertainment strategy, following last month's announcement that the company would commit more than $500 million over the next two years in the development and distribution of its gaming business across its global portfolio. MTVN is focused on developing three primary gaming experiences, including online and mobile casual games that appeal to kids, young adults and women; games media and editorial content for the hardcore gamers among its young adult and adult male audiences; and console and handheld games that serve kids, young adults and men.

   NEW DEVELOPMENT SLATE:   The development slate of MTVN's forthcoming websites includes:    COMEDY CENTRAL   -- The Daily Show:  The new Daily Show website will be a one-stop      destination for users to search the entire video history of the      show: every headline, every interview and every Back in Black. The site      will also feature the previous evening's episode in its entirety for      viewing and discussion.   -- The Sarah Silverman Program:  Launching this September, the updated      Sarah Silverman Program website will feature exclusive video from Sarah      and her friends, with new clips rolling out every week. Fans will be      able to check out The Sarah Silverman Program Nuggets, a fictional look      at the goings-on behind the scenes, as well as original animated shorts      and a daily blog with stories from the set, messages from the show      creators, and updates on the whole cast.   -- Jokes.com:  Launching in Q1 2008, Jokes.com is the one-stop shop for      everything stand-up and jokes related. The new site will house      comedycentral.com's entire jokes database, a video archive of all      COMEDY CENTRAL stand-up programming, a Comedians A-Z database and      user-generated video contributions.   -- SouthParkStudios.com:  SouthParkStudios.com, the long running official      fan site of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning South Park, will      re-launch in the first quarter of 2008 with a wealth of new content      from the groundbreaking animated series. As the new online home for      South Park, the site will create a Web presence equaling the popularity      and power of the series' brand.    GameTrailers   -- WikiCheats.com:  GameTrailers.com's new WikiCheats.com site will      provide video gamers with tricks and special commands to help them with      game play.    Logo   -- Alien Boot Camp:  A destination for fans of gay animation, with the      largest collection of short gay animated videos anywhere online,      included clips from Logo original series Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay      Couple in All the World.    MTV   -- Dances From Tha Hood:  Hosted by Tweety, Dances From Tha Hood offers      MTV viewers step-by-step instructions for all the latest dance moves      for hip-hop and other genres. Viewers can also submit their own clips      of their own fancy footwork and become experts in their own right.   -- Engaged and Underage Couples Court:  Based on the hit MTV on-air      franchise, the Engaged and Underage Couples Court website will allow      fans to create joint dispute pages chronicling their arguments and      disagreements through blog posts, photos and videos. With the help      from a jury of their peers, couples will benefit from first-hand advice      from the broader community.   -- Fashion:  Because MTV's viewers dictate the trends and fashions of      today, the new Fashion vertical will chronicle the latest trends across      the nation based on what viewers actually are wearing, not what a      magazine says they should be wearing.   -- Take Action. Make Art.:  MTV & HP will challenge youth to create      graphics for a special edition HP notebook PC that will be made      available to consumers worldwide in March 2008. Designs can be      submitted through October 17 at mtv-tama.com.    Nickelodeon   -- iCarly.com:  Fans of the new series can also go online to submit videos      showing their talents, weird skills, homemade animated shorts and much      more. Some of these might even make it into the on-air series itself!      In addition, iCarly.com will feature highlights of the latest webcasts      from the series -- plus additional footage not seen on-air -- weekly      character blogs, and fans can send e-mails, ask questions, post      comments or participate in polls.    The N   -- The-NGames.com:  The-NGames.com will become the first major casual      gaming site to focus solely on teen girls. The-N.com, which previously      focused on social games for teen girls with games like Slasher, Avatar      Mall and others, will partner with AddictingGames to produce this new      site. The site launches in Q1 2008.    VH1   -- VH1Eyecandy.com:  VH1Eyecandy.com, which launched in a beta version      last month, will be the ultimate digital hub for pop culture fans on      the web, offering more close to 150,000 photographs and 5,000 hours of      video, with new images and video added daily -- in addition to an array      of tools for users to grab, embed, blog and remix photos, videos and      news stories.    MTV Networks International   -- MTV Europe Music Awards Munich 2007:  For the first time MTV audiences      can decide the nominees and winners in all-new categories for the      premier European music event hosted by Snoop Dogg on November 1 at      mtvema.com.   -- Nick Kids' Choice Awards (UK):  A dedicated area where kids can vote      for the winners, enter competitions and play games related to the      first-ever Nick Kids' Choice Awards in the UK on October 20, hosted by      McFly.   -- See Something, Say Something (UK):  In the coming weeks, Nickelodeon      will launch a new multi-platform campaign to empower kids to speak out      against bullying. This will include information online on what to do      about bullying, video clips dedicated to the issue and community      resources.   -- Living on the Edge virtual world (UK):  MTV will launch a virtual world      dedicated to the new local original production Living on the Edge --      the UK's answer to Laguna Beach.   -- Comedy Blackboard (Germany):  Comedy Blackboard, a new site from COMEDY      CENTRAL Germany, will give users the opportunity to exchange any kind      of comedy related offers or information. The main site,      comedycentral.de, will launch a new interactive tool, Comedy Doc.,      where a panel of highly qualified comedy pros will answer questions      related to the careers of comedians.   -- MTV Germany:  The most important web site for music and entertainment      in Germany, mtv.de, will be enhanced in November with new cutting-edge      design and features such as video content related to MTV's biggest      shows, user interaction and uploads.   -- MTV Hungary:  A new local language website, mtv.co.hu, will debut on      October 1 in conjunction with the launch of MTV Hungary.   -- MTV Ukraine:  This week MTV Ukraine launched on-air and online at      mtv.ua.   -- VIVA Comet Awards (Poland):  A dedicated site for the VIVA Comet Awards      on October 4 at comet.vivapolska.tv enables fans to interact with one      of Poland's biggest events on the music calendar.   -- MTV Japan:  On September 18, MTV will launch blogs across its site at      mtvjapan.com dedicated to each area - News, Music, Cinema & VJs.   -- MTV Southeast Asia:  MTV will roll-out a series of online games,      virtual worlds and social networking tools over the coming weeks for      users in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines with      additional countries to follow.   -- WebeoTV:  Bands upload video of their life "behind the scenes" be it on      the road, recording their next album or how they spent their summer      vacation and MTV Latin America creates webisodes from the material for      fans to see.   -- Premios MTV (Video Music Awards Latin America):  A site dedicated to      this year's show. Fans can vote in all categories, upload original      audio compositions that may be used in the show, watch their favorite      nominated videos, enter contests and more.    SELECT EXISTING WEBSITES:  

MTVN already boasts a roster of successful targeted websites that include, among others:

   COMEDY CENTRAL   -- COMEDY CENTRAL's Indecision2008.com:  a tongue-in-cheek election portal      featuring clips from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert      Report and Lil' Bush; the Indecider blog, uncovering humor along the      campaign trail; and a host of interactive widgets for red and blue      states alike.    Logo   -- 365Gay.com:  The nation's premiere source for online news of interest      to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.   -- AfterEllen.com:  Lesbian entertainment news, reviews blogs, web shows      and discussion has a home at this acclaimed site.   -- AfterElton.com:  The gay male companion to AfterEllen.com, this site is      the top source for the latest news and reviews about gay celebrities,      films, TV and music.   -- HappiestGayCouple.com:  The companion super fan site for Logo's hit      animated series Rick & Steve:  The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World      includes robust discussion, create your own comics, videos and more.   -- VisibleVote08.com:  Launched in conjunction with Logo's historic      presidential forum on LGBT issues, this site is the home for news and      information for LGBT voters from now through inauguration day 2009.   -- NewNowNext.com:  The smartest, savviest blog with latest in LGBT music,      movies, TV, tech and celebrity news.   -- DowneLink.com:  Recently acquired by Logo, this the leading social      networking site for the multicultural LGBT audience.    MTV   -- Real World Casting, through which more than 220,000 viewers submitted      90-second "confessional" videos to audition for The Real World:      Hollywood. The lucky person with the most votes earns a spot on the      next season of one of MTV's most popular television shows.   -- YoMomma.tv, which allows viewers to wade through tens of thousands of      disses, upload their own jokes and enter the 'battle ring' to go      head-to-head with each other, with viewers choosing the best disser.   -- Wannabemade.com, which allows viewers to launch their own personal      development journeys that are chronicled on the viewer's profile page      and can be captured on-air as part of the on-air season of Made.   -- ShortCircuitz.MTV.com features a hilarious, rapid-fire collection of      professional and user-generated fake TV shows, phony news reports,      off-the-wall commercial spoofs, and parodies of anything and everything      else on TV.   -- MySuperSweet16.com is the ultimate community for coming-of-age      teenagers to gossip, brag, share, and get help from friends in planning      all of the details surrounding their seminal 16th birthday party.    Nickelodeon   -- NickArcade.com:  Nick's successful paid downloadable games business.   -- Nicktropolis:  The fastest growing virtual world for kids.   -- Quizilla.com:  A top user-generated creative community for teens where      they can create and share quizzes, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, polls      and other creative content.   -- Shockwave.com:  The definitive gaming destination for families.   -- AddictingGames.com:  The best free online games site on the Web serving      millions each month.    VH1   -- VH1's "The Score" is a user-generated driven site where amateur music      producers upload original work for consideration to become official      scores for select VH1 on-air programming. The Score's first competition      centers on the 2007 VH1 Hip Hop Honors, airing on VH1 in October. The      winner will create the official score to this year's VH1 Hip Hop      Honors.   -- VH1Classic.com is an immersive, online extension of the TV channel      dedicated to the classic music and artists of the 70's, 80's and early      90's. The site features thousands of videos and exclusive VH1 Classic      performances and programming.   -- VH1's BestWeekEver.tv, which launched more than a year ago, is the      online counterpart to the weekly pop culture and celebrity news show.   -- The I Love New York 2 and Flavor of Love 3 casting sites are giving      fans the opportunity to submit themselves for consideration in both      shows and vote for futures potential candidates in the upcoming      seasons.    About MTV Networks  

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE:VIA) (NYSE:VIA.B) , is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 140 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services -- MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN/THE N, VH1 CLASSIC, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 300 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

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Source: MTV Networks

CONTACT: Lauren Hurvitz of MTV Networks, +1-212-846-8036,
lauren.hurvitz@mtvstaff.com

Web site: http://www.mtv.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment