MTV’s Digital Play

This article is based on an interview with MTV’s digital media chief Jason Hirschhorn, who said that MTV was going digital because its audience was — which is the best reason to do it. The company predicts its revenues from digital media will reach $500 million in the next three years, up from $150 million now (on total revenue of around $1.5 billion). On the mobile side, it claims to be the world’s largest mobile content provider, which is a big call. “MTV has been very aggressive with moving media to cellphones worldwide, averaging 2.5 million mobile video streams a month. A good example would be the network’s latest mobile play — Pocket VH1. It’s essentially a mobile channel with a library of on-demand programming, much like Windows Media Center or a cable VOD experience. Ms. Imm recalls showing it off at CTIA, where someone paid it the highest possible compliment. “They told me, ‘That’s really Korean of you,”‘ she said.”

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