Viacom is bolstering its mobile content strategy for MTV with the launch of branded content apps and partnerships with mobile network operators.
The move will see MTV give mobile network operators on-demand access to its extensive international content library and its global music expertise through the launch apps, MTV Play and MTV Trax.
The new video and digital music apps will be offered to operators as part of exclusive brand licensing agreements, designed to transform operator services aimed at the burgeoning millennial market; the biggest consumers of OTT content and services via mobile.
More than two-fifths (41%) of 16 to 24-year-olds regularly watch TV shows on smartphone, according to recent research by MTV’s international parent company, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN).
Music streaming services are also very popular among younger mobile users – in fact mobile handsets are the preferred music listening device for 16 to 24-year-olds, while one in ten (11%) under-35s pay to stream music online.
“MTV is one of the hottest entertainment brands in the minds of 16 to 24-year-old mobile users, with the majority of online engagement with the MTV brand now coming through mobile devices,” commented Bob Bakish, President and CEO of VIMN. “Today’s launch of the MTV Play and MTV Trax apps offers operators an enormous opportunity to differentiate themselves and reward consumer loyalty by offering greater value through premium branded content and services targeting young customers who aren’t currently subscribing to pay TV.”