MTV, VH1 and CMT Create Entertainment, Gaming Experiences Built Around Music Lyrics

MTV, VH1 and CMT Create Entertainment, Gaming Experiences Built Around Music Lyrics

On-Air, Online and Mobile Experiences Tap Into Emotional Rush of Lyric Discovery

NEW YORK, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- MTV Networks' Music Group today announced that its MTV, VH1 and CMT music brands are creating innovative entertainment and gaming experiences built around the universal appeal of music lyrics. The experiences will live across each brand's multiple touchpoints - from on-air to online and mobile - and will be designed to tap into the emotional rush and sense of discovery that music fans feel when they learn the true lyrics to their favorite songs. By creating experiences across all its music brands and their screens, MTV Networks becomes the first media/entertainment company to deeply thread lyrics into the fabric of its programming on all platforms.

"Powerful lyrics speak to everyone in deeply emotional ways, so it's only fitting that we create equally moving experiences that bring an artist's words to life," said Van Toffler, President of MTV Networks' Music & Logo Group. "By tightly linking lyrics with video and other curated programming, we're harnessing the full power of all of our screens to strengthen the emotional connections so many of us have with our favorite songs."

"Our audiences love searching for their favorite lyrics," added Courtney Holt, Executive Vice President of Digital Media for the MTVN Music & Logo Group. "By threading innovative ways for them to seek out and interact with lyrics throughout our musical eco-system, we're creating even more unique ways for them to connect with their favorite music."

On-Air

MTV's "Spankin' New Music Week," which begins Nov. 26, will become "Spankin' New Lyrics Week," in which lyrics - and the artists' inspirations for their words - take center stage during the weeklong celebration of new music. VH1 will integrate lyrics into music programs like "Boxset," the online music series that made the jump to TV last year. And CMT is exploring ways to air interviews with heartland viewers discussing the meaning behind their favorite country songs. Lyrics also will be integrated into MTV Networks' recently green-lit "Name That Tune" series, which will air on all three networks. "Name That Tune" and the lyrics search capabilities both appeal to viewers' strong charge they get when they can quickly identify a song or decipher an elusive line.

Online

Online, each music brand will augment lyrics search capabilities with comprehensive artist information and unique editorial. Viewers who search for lyrics on MTV.com, VH1.com or CMT.com will get the full lyrics, as well as links to music videos, links to purchase the song, and comprehensive artist information, such as bios and discographies. VH1Classic.com will launch a similar lyrics experience next year. Over time, the brands also will deliver unique editorial perspectives that highlight the important social, political and historical implications of select artists' lyrics.

On the handset

In the mobile realm, MTV Mobile, VH1 Mobile and CMT Mobile will let viewers discover lyrics directly on their handsets. Viewers who text an artist's name, song name or a portion of a line will receive a link to a special WAP, or mobile Internet, page displaying the full lyrics, along with other artist and track information.

Additionally, all three brands will develop single and multiplayer trivia games for online and the mobile platform.

Timing

The lyrics-based experiences will be rolled out in phases beginning in November and continuing through the first half of next year.

The online and mobile lyrics data is provided by Gracenote(R).

Today's announcement follows several recent digital highlights and milestones reached across MTV Networks. In September, MTVN attracted nearly 45 million unique visitors in the U.S., and nearly 92 million worldwide, across its online portfolio, according to comScore Media Metrix. The company recently unveiled plans to roll out Flux, a next-generation social media platform that will grow to span the company's young adult-and adult-directed websites and be open across the Internet. MTVN also has announced a development slate of two dozen targeted websites that will bring the company's global website portfolio to more than 300 sites by year's end. In August, the company announced that it will invest more than $500 million over the next two years in the development and distribution of its gaming business, to deeper serve and drive engagement among its core demographic audiences.

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' Music Group

CONTACT: Matthew Hutchison, +1-212-846-8052,
Matthew.Hutchison@MTVstaff.com, or Erica Cantwell, +1-212-846-3683,
Erica.Cantwell@VH1staff.com, or Mariana Agathoklis, +1-212-846-5755,
Mariana.Agathoklis@MTVstaff.com, all of MTV Networks

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

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Profile: International Entertainment