Top jobs of the week in tech: MTV, POPSUGAR and more
Looking for a job in tech? Each week we highlight some of the most interesting positions posted to Gigaom’s job board. Check out the latest tech gigs at leading companies across the country.
MTV
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Commutist, meet Nerdist, a podcast interview with Chris Hardwick
Chris Hardwick, founder and chief nerd at Nerdist.com, hops on to a special Commutist episode. Between his TV background, podcast network and stand-up tours, Hardwick is at the nexus of old and new media. He shares his thoughts on that and how technology impacts his work.
MTV will have a hard time charging Brits for VOD
MTV UK has upgraded its MTV OD on-demand platform with catch-up TV shows transmitted in the last seven days – but it may be challenged to make a success of it.
Aframe raises $7M to put video production in the cloud
Cloud video production platform provider Aframe has raised a Series A round to expand internationally. The funding was led by Octopus Investments and Eden Ventures, with participation from existing investor Northstar Ventures, and will be used to open new offices in Boston, NYC and L.A.
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MTV’s Music Meter App Out Of Beta For Both iOS And Android
Believe it or not, MTV actually does still care about music: its Music Meter mobile application has shed the beta tag with its 2.0 release,…
MTV EMA 2011 Ratings Reached New High, Fuelled By Multi-Screen Strategy
Viacom (NYSE: VIA) says that this year’s MTV European Music Awards (EMAs) received their highest audience ratings ever in the UK, attracting…
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Box Office Revenues Propel Viacom, As Advertising Sees Decent Gains
The third movie in the Transformers franchise helped boost Viacom’s revenues in its FY Q4 results both at the box office as digital distrib…
R.E.M.ix: ‘It’s The End Of TV As We Know It’
“I’d studied your cartoons, radio, music, TV, movies, magazines,” Michael Stipe once sang, vicariously, as though channelling Dan Rather.
R…
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Bitbop Pulls A Hulu, Goes Abroad With Ad-Free Mobile Video Offer In Germany
Bitbop, the mobile video service once owned by News Corp. (NSDQ: NWS) and then sold in a whirr of a divestment strategy, looks like it is fi…
Viacom’s Dauman: Streaming Deals Will Keep Affiliate Fees Rising
Although Viacom’s stock, along with most everyone else’s, has been battered in recent days by the market declines the past few days, it migh…
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Magna CEO Herbst-Brady Jumps To MTV For Ad Strategy Role
MagnaGlobal president and CEO Elizabeth Herbst-Brady is exiting her role after three years to join MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) as EVP of ad sal…
Viacom And Time Warner Take A Break From Legal Battle Over TV On iPads
iPads and other tablets that enable television watching are looking to be one of the legal flash points between content owners and distribut…
@ pcMobile 2011: MTV’s Rush: Tosh.0 Represents The Twitter/TV Bridge
In addition to seeking third party help from sources, MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) has been experimenting with its own home-grown entertainment…
Time Warner Cable Turns Off iPad Streaming For Dozen Nets Including FX, MTV
Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) is giving in — for now — to some programmers who insist existing agreements with the cable operator don’t co…
MTV’s Latest ‘Return To Music Roots’ Project Released: The Hive
As the “music portion” of SXSW kicks off today — discovering new sounds was the original impetus behind the mostly tech-centric Austin, Tx.…
DoubleBounce Aims To Take TV Producers Online
There’s plenty of digital platforms seeking content for connected devices and there’s plenty of viable content ideas from TV production comp…
Vid-Biz: News Corp, MTV UK, Comcast-Time Warner
Today on the Internet: Carriage fights cost News Corp $47 million last year, MTV is offering a paid subscription service for original programming in the UK and the Comcast-Time Warner deal could be a great example of how companies can work together in the Netflix age.
Viacom Ad Gains Canceled Out By Lower Home Video Sales
Viacom’s cable properties benefitted from the advertising recovery of the past year, but lower DVD sales erased any of its gains in the last…
MTV UK Tries Charging For Online Catch-Up TV
If you thought that pay-per-view online catch-up TV had been replaced by the free, ad-supported model, think again – MTV has launched a dedi…
Viacom Returns Stewart, Colbert To Hulu … Along With ‘Jersey Shore’
Viacom (NYSE: VIA) is bringing back to Hulu the Comedy Central hits The Daily Show and The Colbert Report nearly a year after they were pull…
Vid-Biz: MTV’s Skins, Boxee, RealPlayer for Android
Today on the Internet: MTV discusses its social media strategy for the show Skins; Boxee considers subsidized deals to compete with Apple; and a new upgrade of RealPlayer for Android comes out, based on user feedback.
Updated: MTV ‘Skins’ Strategy: Aim For Social Hit First, TV Hit After
MTV in the States has been heavily promoting its new teen drama Skins for months across a range of social media, including Tumblr, Facebook…
It’s Okay If You Confuse Comedy Central’s Logo For A Copyright Symbol
Comedy Central held a small press conference today to herald its new clean, minimal logo: a small “c” enveloped in another larger, backwards…
When It Comes to Oscar-Baiting, MTV Beats the NYT
It’s that time of year again, when publications like the New York Times overflow with profiles of actors up for Oscar contention. But while the Times’s coverage features an innovative use of video, MTV’s got the edge in capturing who an actor really is.
‘Jackass 3.5’ Blazes Distinctive Path To Digital Platforms
When you’re a mega-successful film franchise, doing something unique in digital distribution is typically besides the point. But nobody told…
With AirPlay, Apple TV Finally Takes Flight
Poor Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) TV was starting to get overshadowed in recent months with all the attention being paid to the likes of Google (NSDQ:…
Viacom Selling Rock Band Maker Harmonix; Profits Fall On Writedowns
Viacom (NYSE: VIA) has had enough of falling sales for gaming brand Rock Band and so the company has decided to sell its maker, Harmonix. Th…
The Morning Lowdown 09.30.10
» As Advertising Week continues, MTV unveiled a new ad unit that is specially targeted toward younger consumers. [Mediaweek]
…
MTV’s Video Music Awards Scored Mobile Ratings Success As Well
A little dose of anticipated controversy always helps boost TV ratings, as it surely did for MTV’s Video Music Awards telecast last Sunday.…
The Morning Lowdown 09.13.10
» The Hollywood Reporter will cease publishing a daily print digest and will replace it with an online PDF for subscribers as it…
MTV’s Savage County Goes Transmedia
Wondering how confident MTV is that its Eventful campaign for Savage County will lead to a television premiere? Here’s how confident: They’ve hired Nina Bargiel, who masterminded the Streamy-winning Valemont transmedia experience, to create another interactive web-based narrative for the upcoming slasher film.
MTV Uses Eventful So Audiences Can Demand Savage County
The success of last fall’s Paranormal Activity guaranteed that another horror project would try using Eventful’s Demand It to bring in audiences. The twist with the MTV-produced Savage County is that while it was originally a web series, fans may get it on TV.
MTVN UK Does A Bebo, Commissions Its First Online-Only Social Drama
By Jemima Kiss: MTV has revealed its first digital-only drama Being Victor, which has been quietly building up interest through an in-charac…
Viacom Profits Surge, But Home Entertainment Revenues Stumble
Viacom (NYSE: VIA) showed the true benefits of having the dual revenue streams of advertising and cable, as its networks division, which inc…
MySpace Sales Exec Courtin Returns To MTVN
MTV has reorganized the heads of its Integrated Marketing Group with the return of MySpace (NSDQ: NWS) sales executive Angela Courtin to the…
MTV Networks Buys Gaming Developer Social Express
After its popular Rock Band franchise saw sales dwindle last year, MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) has sought to find other ways of building up its…
MTVN’s Tribes Ad Network Goes Mobile
Nearly two years after MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) created its Tribes ad network as a way to extend its cable channels’ ad sales to like-minded…
Microsoft’s Revolving Doors: Domeniconi Out; MTVN’s Everson In?
After a year and a half since she arrived at Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), ad exec Robin Domeniconi is leaving as the software giant is trying to…
Viacom-Google Unsealed: Take Two: Viacom Exec: ‘YouTube Mostly Behaves’
Updated: Some more tidbits from the latest batch of unsealed documents in the Viacom (NYSE: VIA) copyright suit against Google/YouTube, this…
MTV Picks Yangaroo for Video Workflow
MTV Networks (s VIA) has chosen Yangaroo’s Digital Media Distribution System (DMDS) 5.0 to simplify its video workflows and make it faster…
MTVN’s Spike Unleashes Full Episodes For Online Ultimate Fighting Site
MTVN’s Spike TV is finally giving fans of The Ultimate Fighter reality series the chance to watch full episodes from the past 11 seasons wit…
Industry Moves Round-Up: MTVNI Digital SVP, Epiphany, Specific Media
— MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) International: The music broadcaster is expanding the role of its UK, Ireland and Australia and New Zealand SVP…
@ Music & Money: MTVN’s Van Toffler: Music Videos Still Have Value
The other day, MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) Judy McGrath was asked about the company’s image in the age of the Jersey Shore, and she talked abou…
Paley Center: MTVN’s McGrath: Younger Viewers Are Still Watching TV
In an interview with NYT TV reporter Bill Carter at the Paley Center, MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) CEO Judy McGrath insisted that despite appear…
MTV Digital Reorg: McDonnell To Head Fusion; Tribes’ Hopkins Gets Expanded Marketing Role
As MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) ad execs begin meeting with marketers and media buyers for this year’s upfront, the Viacom unit is putting some…
MTVN’s McGrath: No Major Digital Acquisitions This Year; Hirschhorn Can Redirect MySpace
MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) CEO Judy McGrath says the Viacom unit’s organic growth is “great,” despite its continued signs of weakness as detai…
Viacom Profits Triple, As Ad Declines Slow; Lower Rock Band Sales Pull Down Revs
Viacom’s profits rose significantly in Q4, as the company posted modest revenue and advertising declines, beating analysts’ expectations. Gl…
Hope For Haiti Now By The Numbers: Wide Online Distribution Didn’t Add Up
The amount raised by the Hope For Haiti Now telethon stands at more than $61 million, organizers announced late Monday, up from the prelimin…
Video Interview: MTV Games SVP On Rock Band’s Slowing Sales
Music games sales’ tempo may be slowing – but that’s only because instrument ownership is nearing saturation – and anyway, songs bought with…
‘Hope For Haiti Now’ Prelim Take: $58 Million; Many Sites Drop Appeal After Telethon
A stunning number of networks, sites, cable ops and mobile carriers came together Friday night to distribute the Hope for Haiti Now telethon…
Haiti Telethon Will Stretch Across Platforms, Countries; Paste Tries Different Approach
Tuesday night, CNN raised more than $7 million for Haitian relief during an quickly planned telethon on Larry King Live. That was small comp…
MTVN Promotes Kevin Arrix Head Of Digital Ad Sales; Witt Joins Stirratt At MySpace
MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) is promoting Kevin Arrix (pictured, left) to the role of EVP, Digital Advertising Sales, replacing Nada Stirratt, w…
How Spike TV Is Driving Digital Revenue From The Video Game Awards
MTVN’s Spike TV launched the first Video Game Awards (VGAs) in 2003, and has been delivering exclusive game trailers and performances to gam…
Will Valemont Become an Oldteevee Show?
With New Moon sucking a bajillion dollars out of the world’s wallets this past weekend, don’t count on the vampire craze dying…
MTVN And RealNetworks Talking On Reorg of Rhapsody Music JV; Could Include Spinoff/Sale
This is not a surprise considering the continued decline of Rhapsody music service in the face of lots of new competition and the general ma…
Auditude Now Managing Ads for All MTV Sites
Auditude this week announced that it is powering video ads for MTV Networks’ (s VIA.B) various sites, including MTV, Comedy Central and…
The Beatles: Rock Band Marks First Month As Top Selling Music Video Game
In its first month on the market, The Beatles: Rock Band jumped to the top of the music video game charts. It was the top selling music vide…
Nada Stirratt Defects From MTV To MySpace As Chief Revenue Officer
Nada Stirratt is leaving her post as EVP, Digital Advertising for MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) to take on the role of chief revenue officer at M…
MTV Minisodes Series Valemont Launches — With Cameos By Verizon
MTV Networks’ latest experiment with the minisodes format, Valemont, kicks off on-air and online Tuesday with Verizon (NYSE: VZ) cell phones…
MTV Networks Cuts About 50 More From Music Group
MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA), part of Viacom, has cut about 75 50 more people, about one percent of its total employees in the U.S. Update: the…
Need To Reach Casual Gamers? MTV Says 15-Second Pre-Rolls Work Best
The debate over how much in-game ad spending will rise or fall this year continues, but it’s clear that people — and the advertisers trying…
Gaming Vets Veevaert, Cohen To Head Jerry Bruckheimer Games
In 2007, Jerry Bruckheimer (pictured, right) announced plans to develop video games via a partnership with MTV Games. Since then, details a…
@ Digital Hollywood: Tracking The Innovation And Monetization
Where’s the best place to find examples of innovation and monetization in digital content? Big media companies with massive budgets? VC-back…
Correction: MTV Will Only Split Ad Revs From New Show With Facebook
Correction: It seems that rev-share talks between MTV and Twitter weren’t finalized by the time What You’re Watching was highlighted at the…
Industry Moves: MTVN Streamlines Oversight For MTV.com, VH1.com; Logo’s Frank Tapped As Sites’ GM
MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) is drawing web functions for its MTV.com and VH1.com together and has brought over Kristin Frank from its Logo netw…
Can New MTVN Unit Put The 'Music' Back In 'Music Television'?
It’s a running joke that MTV and VH1 barely play music videos anymore: both networks are more focused on airing shows like The Real World an…
MTV.co.uk Gives First Ever E-Commerce Foray To Seatwave
Online ticket marketplace Seatwave has landed a good online entertainment client, as it continues slugging it out with rivals like Viagogo.…
At Least Half Of Kid-Related Ad Dollars Now Going To Non-TV Sites
The share of online ad dollars going to TV-related sites appears to be dwindling, unidentified sources tell Mediaweek, eroding the dominatio…
Ad Industry Roundup: Video Ads; Google-NBCU; Yahoo Pets; Facebook/Church; Comedy Central-Wiredset
— Expect more video ads in ABC.com content : At least, that’s one conclusion you could draw from the outcome of new research from Disney/A…
Industry Moves: Former MTV Exec Christina Norman Joins Oprah-Discovery JV OWN As CEO
Drum roll… after more than a year of searching, the Harpo-Discovery (NSDQ: DISAB) Communications (NSDQ: DISCA) JV finally has a new CEO: C…
MTVN Launches Humor Vertical Net Around Comedy Central; JibJab Joins ‘The Tribe’
About four months after MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) formally introduced its Tribes online ad network, the company is set to unveil its humor ve…
AT&T Inks Content Deals With BET And MTV Across TV, Wireless And In-Car Entertainment
AT&T (NYSE: T) has secured a deal with Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) and BET to run content across a number of its platforms, including…
AT&T Inks Content Deals With BET And MTV Across TV, Wireless And In-Car Entertainment
AT&T (NYSE: T) has secured a deal with Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) and BET to run content across a number of its platforms, including…
Broadband Content Bits: Showtime/Tara; Congress/YouTube; EQAL/CBS; SpongeBob
— Showtime to premiere TV shows on Web: And another reason for cable providers to complain about the networks’ premium content going to the…
Erin Lucas: The City Girl’s Podcasting Past
The boys and girls of MTV’s faux-reality-TV universe — Laguna Beach, The Hills, etc. — are given the chance to create their…
Social Media Roundup: LinkedIn; Nick’s UPick; Broadway Interactive
— Tanking job market a boon for LinkedIn: While LinkedIn laid off some 10 percent of its staff in November, the financial crisis hasn’t bee…
Industry Moves: OWN; MTV-VH1; Peerset; Paramount; Universal; Newseum
— Oprah Winfrey Network: Liz Dolan has signed on as CMO for OWN, effective January 2009. Most recently, she headed up marketing at NIKE and…
Making Action Sports Pay: NBC, MTV Try Yet Another Variation With ‘Alli’
Six months after announcing an action sports joint venture built on the Action Sports Tour, divisions of NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) and Viacom…
Want to Watch the Britney Spears Documentary Online? Not So Fast
You know it’s the attention that keeps building Britney Spears up and tearing her back down, but you just can’t turn away.…
Broadband Content Bits: Universal/Meebo; Crackle’s New Shows; YouTube Live Stats; XFire’s JV with H3
— Universal seeds Meebo with content: Social communications company Meebo will feature videos from Universal Music Group artists like The K…
Industry Moves: Stephen K. Friedman Promoted To GM Of MTV
Stephen K. Friedman has been promoted to general manager of MTV — meaning he’ll oversee the day-to-day operations and strategic development…
Earnings Call: Redstone Insists No More Sales Of Viacom, CBS Stock
Two themes as Viacom (NYSE: VIA) execs pick up from the Beatles soundtrack playing while listeners waited for the Q3 call to start: Viacom C…
MySpace and MTV Networks Will Do Video-Ad Partnership; Technology Automatically IDs Clips
MySpace is following YouTube in trying to identify uploaded clips and then insert ads in them. It is starting with one media company first,…
Auditude Signs MTV, MySpace To Monetize Pirated Video
Remember when we gave you the scoop on that startup Auditude that’s trying to turn pirated TV clips into gold? Well, tonight…
Broadband Content Bits: Netflix; MTVmusic.com; TidalTV-CNBC; Crackle.com Show
— *Netflix* expands to Silverlight and Macs; HD on Xbox: Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) has broadened its offerings as it has begun deploying Microso…
Industry Moves: MTVNI Ups Digital Media Head Bierer To EVP
MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) International is promoting digital media SVP Gideon Bierer to EVP level, though for the same topic and continuing t…
MTVN Signs Visible Measures to Use Stats to Lure Money to Web Video
Video analytics firm Visible Measures has long said it has some impressive big-name customers, but it’s never been allowed to talk about…
MTV Buys Remaining Stake Of Social Net Aggregator Flux
MTV Networks has acquired Social Project Inc., the company that runs social media aggregator Flux.com, which has been working with the Viaco…
Backchannel: Social Chat Game For MTV’s The Hills
Launching today, MTV’s Backchannel is a very cool-looking social game synergizing a very silly product— specifically, the network’s “reality” show The Hills.…
MTVN Aims For ‘Tribes’ With Online Ad Net For Its Cable Channels
MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) is readying Tribes, an online ad network tied to its various cable channels, Mediaweek reports. Tribes will pull in…
Vid-Biz: ScanScout, Engine Room, MySpace
ScanScout Gets New CEO; nine months after the last chief exec left, video ad company brings in About founder Bill Day, and…
@ CTIA: MTV Launches First Mobile Ad-Supported VOD Service With Carriers
MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) is launching its first ad-supported, mobile video-on-demand service with carriers. With the U.S. Air Force signed o…
Broadband Content Bits: CBSSports-SEC; Seth MacFarlane; Spike Lee; Logo; Adobe-DirecTV-NFL; HBOlab
— CBSSports.com to stream SEC games live: Following ESPN’s $2.25 billion deal for some Southeastern Conference (SEC) rights, including live…
Vid Picks: MTV VMAs, Spontaneity-Free
Last year’s MTV VMA Awards was a highly entertaining train wreck, one that potentially ruined Britney Spears’ career and gave birth to…
MTVu Gets Local, Launches Online Campus Guides Network
Looking to tap growing online local ad spending, the MTVu cable channel is introducing 25 listings sites tied to specific colleges, Reuters…
Russell Brand, Britney Spears, The Line: NTV Station Today
In 10 years, we’ll look back on Forgetting Sarah Marshall as “the movie in which most of America found out how funny…
@ LATV Festival: ‘Content Is King, But Distribution Brings The Bling’
A Different Pay-To-Play: MTVN Offers Developers Cash Bonus For Creating Hit Games
MTV Networks’ (NYSE: VIA) Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group’s AddictingGames is going to announce a program designed to encourage developers…
MTV Gets Back Into Music Recommendation With ‘Soundtrack’; Rhapsody To Handle Download Sales
MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA), now better known for creating series like The Hills than bringing the world the next Thriller video, is launching…
Ad Industry Roundup: Senate On Targeted Ads; AOL/Gannett; Microsoft; Glam; IPG; MTVN; People; Veoh
— Senator likens ad targeting to government wiretaps: Two weeks after privacy objections led Charter Communications (NSDQ: CHTR) to drop it…
MTVN Redux: AtomFilms And AtomUploads Rebrand As Atom.com
As if the online comedy sector wasn’t crowded enough already… Viacom’s (NYSE: VIA) MTVN Entertainment Group has relaunched Atom.com, combi…
Broadband Content Bits: iVillage UK-FremantleMedia; Comcast-DNCC; 60Frames-Oni; MTVN Logo
— iVillage UK and FremantleMedia launching online comedy-drama for moms: Called Parentshood, the 12-week series will tell the story of five…
MTV Goes for Viral Gold With Iron Man
After seeing Britney’s comeback fiasco turn into server-melting gold, MTV intentionally created a viral clip for its Movie Awards last night, with…
Broadband Content Bits: SpikeTV; Coors; ‘Countdown’s’ Makeover; Sci Fi’s Fidgit
— SpikeTV revamps site, enters development deal with Playboy: MTV Networks’ (NYSE: VIA) SpikeTV has given its site a complete overhaul, of…
Industry Moves: MTVN; WBTVG; Playboy; Vivox
— MTVN: Nancy Bennett is being upped from VP-creative and multi-platform short form original content at MTVN (NYSE: VIA), to the post of SV…
Broadband Content Bits: SNL Political; Entertainment Rights; MTVN; CSG-National Lampoon
— NBCU launches Saturday Night Live politics minisite: SNL still doesn’t have a real contender for Obama impressions but it does have “SNL…
Industry Moves: Aegis Media; Facebook; MTV; Tribune
— Aegis Media: Mainardo de Nardis has stepped down from his role as CEO and will be succeeded by Jerry Buhlmann, who also joins the board J…
@ MTV Upfront: Jon Stewart On The Big Ad Show: ‘I Thought We Don’t Do These Anymore’
MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) is bringing out as many diverse stars as possible for what is nevertheless considered a more scaled down upfront p…
MTV’s Rock Band Video Game Preps Full Album Download Sales
Having proved that it can sell individual song downloads in the millions after only five months in operation, MTVN’s (NYSE: VIA) Rock Band v…
SFR Launches MTV 3G Phone With Special Content, Plans
French operator SFR will launch an MTV-branded phone next week, the MTV3.3, along with limited-time and fixed-cost plans designed to appeal…
John Sykes Leaving MTV Networks; His Broadband Projects Went Nowhere
We missed this earlier: John Sykes, one of the original executives who launched MTV more than 25 years ago, is leaving the company, to pursu…
10-K Watch: Viacom: Harmonix’s Possible Rock Band Earnout Bounty: $208.7 Million In ’07
Buried within Viacom’s (NYSE: VIA) 10-K annual report filed yesterday with SEC is an interesting and elusive number: the earnout that the de…
‘Jackass’ Makes Its Return–Online
Jackass, the MTV show where its stars willingly, even eagerly, place mousetraps on their extremities, endure charges from electrodes placed…
MTVN Acquires Site Network Babunga To Build Parenting-based Ad Net Around Nickelodeon
MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) has acquired Babunga, a company which owns a network of family-focused websites, Mediaweek reported. Babunga’s site…
MTVRoadies.TV Launched For Fifth Iteration Of Roadies
[by Cerius Shah] Another one for the road. Roadies 5.0 (for the fifth time!) has gone online with MTVRoadies.tv. The website, according to t…
More Changes At MTVN: MTV President Christina Norman Leaving
Christina Norman, president of MTV since 2005 and an MTVN vet of 17 years, is leaving the Viacom unit at the end of the month. Van Toffler,…
In Other News: RealNetworks Lays Off About 10 Employees In Music Division: Confirmed
Updated: Has been confirmed by RealNetworks (NSDQ: RNWK) music PR…offices affected are Seattle, New York and San Francisco. These layoffs…
Broadband Content Bits: AppleTV; mtvU; Break Media
— AppleTV rental software postponed: Apple announced the software upgrade that will allow AppleTV to handle movie rentals, along with built…
NATPE Interview: Greg Clayman, EVP Of Digital, MTVN: What's Working In Mobile This Year
At NATPE yesterday, I spoke to Greg Clayman, EVP, Digital Distribution & Business Development, MTV, who overlooks all of MTVN’s mobile busin…
MTV Networks Closes Flux User-Gen TV Channel in UK After 16 Months
MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) is closing down its Flux TV channel in UK, about 16 months after it launched there…it will be replaced by a one-h…
MTVN's Rock Band Is A Hit With 2.5 Million Song Downloads
With the pared-down Grammys providing another downer for an already beleaguered industry, this dose of optimism may help: After just eight w…
Updated: Hirschorn Leaves Viacom, VH1 To Launch Own Production House; First Looks To MTV Music, Logo
Who knew when Inside.com’s bubble popped it would lead to a hot cable career for co-founder Michael Hirschorn? (Rafat and I worked for Hirsc…
CES Scorecard: What You Need to Know
If you’re not into the second-by-second minutia of CES, it can be hard to take a low-key approach to the tech industry’s…
Interview: MTVN Ad Group’s Nada Stirratt, Jason Witt: Pushing Ad And Screen Agnosticism
Bottles of champagne were popping outside Nada Stirratt’s 15th floor office at MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) Thursday afternoon as staffers prepa…
Microsoft Signs Online Ad, Content Deal With Viacom; Value Of Agreement Pegged At $500 Million
Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has signed a five-year deal with Viacom (NYSE: VIA) covering on ad serving, content distribution, event promotions an…
MTV Networks Takes Stake In Online Video Site GoFish, In Return For Distribution
GoFish, the online video entertainment site which unsuccessfully tried to buy Bolt.com earlier this year, has now done a couple of strategic…
Social Media Aggregator Flux Releases New Platform Aimed At Expanding Services Beyond MTVN
Social media aggregator Flux.com is releasing two products today designed to let web publishers move their content seamlessly among communit…
MTV’s Plans For Digital Gaming Expansion; All of South Park Online
A nice and short video interview from Reuters, (NSDQ: RTRSY) with Mika Salmi, President, MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) Global Digital Media, on R…
@ Ad:Tech: Traditional Media Gets Social With Branding, Content Strategy; Widgets-R-Us
Traditional media properties like the NYT, MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) and Time Inc.’s People find themselves continually redefining their digi…
With Different Goals In Mind, Nickelodeon And Disney Prep Online Content For Preschoolers
Nickelodeon and Disney (NYSE: DIS) are both releasing two online projects aimed at young children this week, though the two have different i…
Viacom Dives Into Portals For Shows; Daily Show; Who Needs A Portal?
Viacom, which recently announced plans to develop standalone sites for its hit shows, has done so for The Daily Show…which in itself is no…
MTV Introduces Causes-Related Social Net ‘ThinkMTV
MTV is beta testing a youth-oriented social network focused on activism and works of charity called ThinkMTV. The project also has the backi…
Viacom’s “New” Digital Soda Pop: Flux, VBS.tv and Tagworld
Not particularly new, because Flux has been in existence for a while in both online and mobile form internationally, VBS.tv’s investment is…
MTV VMAs Panned But Britney, Others Draw A Cross-Platform Crowd
MTV’s signature Video Music Awards drew a lot of negative react this year and a hefty dose of notoriety from Britney Spear’s opening number…
After Being Merged With Spike TV's Site, MTV To Remove iFilm Brand Next Year
While Staci wrote last month that iFilm.com was all but dead, now the obit is being written for the $49 million Viacom (NYSE: VIA) acquisiti…
MTVN Morphs Digital Strategy With Two Dozen Targeted Websites Built From Its TV Programming
Viacom (NYSE: VIA) morphs its digital strategy again … MTV Networks will build out two dozen sites devoted to its individual shows, accord…
Remnant Of Viacom Plus, MTV, CBS Experiment In Joint Multiplatform Ad Sales, Is Shuttered
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South Park Creators Get Ad Sharing Deal; Digital Rev Share and Online Studio Formed
In what is being described as a new deal of its kind, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators and executive producers of
Music Labels Flit Between Partnerships And Competition With MTV, Others
For a while there, MTV (NYSE: VIA) owned the video music world, becoming as much a part of pop culture and music entertainment as the artist…
MTV-RNWK Music Venture: Rhapsody America Expected To Pull In $500K In Q3 Revenue
Talks began 11 months ago about developing some sort of partnership between RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK) and MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA). After…
MTV-RNWK Music Venture: The Financial Details; Cash Plus $230 Million Note From MTVN
RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK) has a 5 PM EST conference call planned to discuss the financial details of the new JV company, but it just filed…
MTV-RWNK Music Venture: New Company Rhapsody America; Talks With Microsoft Ongoing
While the news of MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) was closing its online music service Urge and merging it with RealNetworks
MTV Closing Urge Music Service, Merging With RealNetworks' Rhapsody
The news was supposed to be announced at a press conference tomorrow at 11 A.M. in NYC, but WSJ jumped the gun figured it out while the rest…
MTV Plans $500 Million Investment In Gaming; Development Of Games On Par With Programming
A few weeks after its younger sibling Nickelodeon said it would put up $100 million to develop casual gaming initiatives, MTV Networks unvei…
MTVN's Logo Acquires LGBT Social Net DowneLink.com
MTVN’s Logo (NYSE: VIA) has added another community to its federation of affiliated sites catering to the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and t…
SpikeTV — 'Powered By iFilm' — Relaunches
Will the iFilm brand survive? The question Rafat asked last March after breaking the news that MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) was merging 2005 acq…
10-Q Watch: MTV Networks’ Writeoff On Its Investment In Amp’d: $36 Million
That came out today in MTV’s parent Viacom’s (NYSE: VIA) 10-Q filing for its Q2 earnings: “In the second quarter, the Company recorded a pre…
Industry Moves: BET Appoints Digital Head As COO; Denmark West Leaves MTVN To Head BET Digital
Some changes at BET, as MTV Networks’ digital team lost its second senior executive in a week (the first being Nicholas Lehman who jumped to…
MTVN’s Nickelodeon Commits $100 Million To Casual Gaming
The MTV Networks
Industry Moves: Turner Broadcasting; MTVN; Last.fm; Capitol Music; Motionbox
— Turner Broadcasting has merged the digital ad-sales units for animation, entertainment and sports into one operation and hired Walker Jac…
Industry Moves: MTVN’s Lehman Jumps To IAC As Programming COO
You’re reading it here first … MTVN vet Nicholas Lehman reports to work at IAC Monday as COO for Michael Jackson, president of programming…
Industry Moves Roundup: Revision3; Ziff Davis Media; BBCA; Comcast; Dailymotion; CNN;
Revision3: PC Magazine’s Jim Louderback is jumping ship and sides, moving to Revision3 as CEO, according to NewTeeVee. Louderback was editor…
Concert For Diana: Live Online, On Demand — And In Streaming Banners
It isn’t quite Live 8 — the vast new Wembley doesn’t even appear to be sold out — but the six-hour Concert for Diana is underway and viewa…
Industry Moves Roundup: Tribune; MTV; Fox News; Roo Group; IMG
— Tribune Broadcasting: Rick Felty has been promoted to VP-digital media, a new post at the Tribune Company unit. Felty was VP-creative ser…
Industry Moves: Hart Promoted To MTV Digital SVP/GM; DeBenedittis, Helms Upped, Too
You’re reading it here first … MTVN is finally moving to fill a position left vacant since Ben White left for Sling Media; the official an…
MTVN Seeks Streamlined Digital Strategy, Plans More Microsites, Virtual Worlds
MTV Networks sought to clarify its still-slightly-murky plans in that area by telling attendees at the Goldman Sachs’ internet conference in…
Earnings: Viacom Q1 Profit Falls 36 Percent; Will Hit $500 Million Mark On Digital Revs This Year
Citing higher expenses and restructuring charges at its media networks, Viacom (NYSE: VIA) reported Q1 profit fell 36 percent to $202.9 mill…
Broadband Content Bits: NHL-Voxant; Goost-WatchMoJo; MTV; CBS-Brightcove; Second Life-NBA; Disney
— NHL Teams With Voxant On Video Clips: The NHL is partnering with Voxant, the Viral Syndication Network, to distribute video clips of game…
Delivery Agent Raises $18.5 Million In Third Round; Partners With MTVN On Shopping Sites
Delivery Agent, a provider of direct response product placement for the entertainment industry, has raised $18.5 Million in a third round, b…
Industry Moves: New Digital Execs At EMI; Promotions At MTVN
EMI: Two more digital appoints as EMI continues to shore up its digital strategy: Mark Nichols and Matthew Crosswaite are now VP- business d…
Broadband Content Bits: CNBC; MTV/ROO; Turner; AOL; Babelgum; XBox; FearNet
— CNBC will begin streaming Asian markets news on its home page. The feature, dubbed CNBC Asia, will stream live from 5:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m…
MTV Hopes User-Gen Is the Key To Latest Reinvention
Once again, the MTVN flagship is trying to reinvent its programming and its image, hoping to prove that MTV has what it takes to reach a mor…
iFilm To Be Folded Into SpikeTV; Blair Harrison To Leave His CEO Position
Updated: That was a short-lived exclusive: MTVN has issued a release about this, and says pretty much the same things as below. Company “pla…
Burnett Brings MTV And Yahoo To The Movies With New User-Gen Heavy Site
Reality show king Mark Burnett is certainly solidifying his producer credits in the online realm lately. In addition to his work linking TV…
Industry Moves Roundup: MTVNI; Citysearch; Bravo; Conde Nast
Catching up on some industry moves:
— MTVN International: Nickelodeon’s UK chief David Lynn will move over to MTV to serve as EVP/managing…
MTV.com Serves Nearly 170 Million Streams In First Two Months Of ’07; Overdrive Gets Overridden
With all the emphasis on external video deals that did (Joost) and didn’t (YouTube) happen, it’s a little easy to forget that among the majo…
AOL To Live Stream Rock Hall Ceremonies
Until now, if you’ve wanted to know what happened at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, you had to go. Typically, VH1 ran…
MTV Cuts Continue: 250 Laid Off At London-based International Unit
As expected, MTV Networks’ recent round of 250 layoffs in the U.S. is being mirrored in London as the Viacom-owned company said it will cut…
Yet Another MTVN Re-Org With An Emphasis On Sales
Time for another game of musical chairs at MTVN as chairman and CEO Judy McGrath continues to realign in the hopes of meeting new management…
MTV at 25: More Than Videos … and More to the Net
MTV has reinvented itself more times than Neil Young and Arianna Huffington combined. In The NYT, David Carr ponders the future of the Viaco…
MTV Layoffs Include Senior Execs; Digital Execs As Well; MTV World Channels Closing
We reported first on MTVs 250 layoffs over the weekend…and mentioned that SVPs and EVPs would be part of it. And then Judy McGrath’s memo…
MTVN’s McGrath To Staff: Many Organizations Are Adapting
MTV Networks chairman and CEO Judy McGrath made official today what her staff already learned through the media and back-channel discussion:…
Update: MTV To Cut Some 250 Jobs
Update: MTV Networks will announce layoff details Monday, according to a Viacom insider. The source disputed the number in the NY Post repor…
Viacom-YouTube: Execs Duel In The Press; Cuban Calls For Action
Viacom knew exactly what it was doing with a showy demand that YouTube take down tens of thousands of clips — even though it apparently did…
VH1 Serves Up User-Generated Content With Talentload.tv
VH1 has taken a step toward serving up branded user-generated content with the launch of Talentload.tv. The site — VH1 says the first of ma…
Viacom Demands That Google Pull More Than 100,000 Clips From YouTube; Site Is Complying
Updated below to include statement from Google: Exasperated by the failure to reach an agreement with Google and YouTube after months of neg…
MTV Experiments With Virtual Reality TV
Once upon a time, back in the age of Duran Duran and A Flock of Seagulls, MTV stood for “Music Television.” Now, it stands for … well, tha…
@ MidemNet: Salmi: User-Gen Wave Revives MTV And Labels' Interest In Music Videos
[By Robert Andrews] MTV helped hasten the demise of the music video – but could resuscitate it with user-generated content, according to the…
MTVN Pumps UP MTVU With Acquisition Of RateMyProfessors.com
Viacom MTV Networks is buying RateMyProfessors.com for its 24-hour college net mtvU; no financial terms were disclosed for the deal expected…
Another Senior MTVN Departure; Judy's Letter To The Troops
Time for another installment of “Real World: Times Square” with the staff of MTVN as cast … Peter Low, EVP-cable TV distribution and affil…
MTV Networks COO Michael Wolf Resigns; So Does Nicole Browning, President, Affiliate Sales
Updated, see below: Another major Viacom management change: MTV Networks President and COO Michael Wolf (left, in the picture) is leaving th…
@ CES: Viacom Brass, Elvis, More Make The Flickr Stream
You never know who or what will show up in our CES photos. Neither do I — some pictures that look great on the small camera LCD turn out to…
Salmi's MTVN Digital Team Finally Set; Lehman Will Head New Games and Interactive Media Unit
The official word isn’t due until Friday but you’re reading it here first … Two months after accepting the job of running the Viacom unit’…
