VIACOM MUSIC AND LOGO GROUP TO LAUNCH NEW IMMERSIVE AND INTERACTIVE BRAND APPS FOR MTV, MTV2, VH1, CMT AND LOGO

06/13/13

Functionality to Include TV Everywhere, Video on Demand, Viewing and Second Screen Co-Viewing Experiences, New Form Content Lab and More

New York, June 13, 2013 – Viacom Music and Logo Group (VIA) today announced the forthcoming launch of video and second screen co-viewing apps tied to its banner brands: MTV, MTV2, VH1, CMT and LOGO. Beginning today, fans will be able to download the new MTV and MTV2 app for free on iPhone and iPad. In the coming months, Viacom Music and Logo Group will roll out additional brand apps for VH1, CMT and LOGO on iOS with plans to launch the MTV/MTV2 app on Android and Xbox by the end of the year.

Each app will feature a new immersive and interactive branded experience that provides fans unmatched access to the current hits, as well as select iconic retro shows (MTV titles will include Beavis and Butt-head, Daria, Laguna Beach). While the apps will all have similar functionality, each will be customized to embody the spirit of each brand and offer unique content.

"With the launch of the apps, we've created new touchpoints to check out our current hits and select favorites from our retro library. We're also taking second screen co-viewing to new heights by providing fans tons of behind-the-scenes contextual content that further amplifies the live viewing experience as well as introducing them to never-before-seen new form content. Collectively, this enables us to drive further value for our fans, advertisers and distribution partners while reinforcing the subscription model." said Kristin Frank, EVP of Connected Content for Viacom Music and LOGO Group.

Full-length episodes of select MTV, MTV2, VH1, CMT and LOGO’s current and select past hits will be available for subscribers of participating TV providers via TV Everywhere. All users will be able to access exclusive original content that extends the narrative of the show, including after shows, cast interviews and original webisodes. Additionally, users will be able to access thousands of digital content pieces from MTV News, VH1 News and CMT News, as well as web series like “RapFix Live” and “House of Style.”

Building upon the success of the second screen co-viewing apps: MTV’s WatchWith and VH1’s CoStar, each brand app will offer an experience called “Connect” that will filter the best tweets from Twitter and allow fans to discuss their favorite shows, characters, and highly anticipated yearly events like the “MTV Video Music Awards,” “VH1 Divas,” “CMT Music Awards” and LOGO’s “NewNowNext Awards” in real time with other fans or with the show’s cast on the app or via Facebook. The apps will also feature new functionality that will provide a contextualized overlay to the live viewing experience, including sharing behind-the-scenes stories and facts about the shows, characters and yearly events, including synced content polls, quizzes, factoids, videos, photos and audio.

The apps will mark the exciting debut of a new Viacom Music and Logo Group connected content lab focused on new-form video content and new approaches to development and production. The first manifestation of the content lab will be MTV Other. At launch, original new form content will include full seasons of:

•   Late Night Munchies: Thu Tran, former host of IFC’s “Food Party” and prop master for sample mash-up artist/musician Girl Talk, brings her unique cooking skills and video art to MTV Other with “Late Night Munchies”. Including celebrity guess from New York’s indie music world, the series spikes the cooking demo format with heavy doses of weirdness and hilarity.
•   Inside Joke: New York's comedic storytelling scene is thriving, from The Moth to UCB's Nights of Our Lives. In this series, produced in conjunction with the website Splitsider.com, one comedian tells a story from their standup act, and the story is re-enacted with the help of improvisers.
•   Rock Stories: In this animated series, music luminary and iconic “120 Minutes” host, Matt Pinfield shares some of his craziest tales from his years of hanging with the biggest names in the music world. Each story is brought to life by a different young animator, resulting in a variety of approaches and interpretations to these always must-hear stories.

As a launch partner of the MTV/MTV 2 app, Pepsi will have presenting sponsor presence as one of the brands bring the experience to MTV fans for the first time. Pepsi will also exclusively own the summer music section of the app.

Content highlights at the launch of MTV/MTV2 include:

•   Full-length episodes of “current” and “retro” MTV/MTV2 programming including “Teen Wolf,” “The Real World,” and “MTV2’s Guy Code.” via TV Everywhere
•   Additive original content including after shows, cast interviews and webisodes, as well as thousands of video content pieces from MTV News, MTV Buzzworthy, MTV Style, MTV Geek, MTV Hive and more.
•   “Connect” functionality that includes a second screen co-viewing experience, as well a contextualized overlay that will reveal behind-the-scenes facts and tidbits for shows like “Catfish: The TV Show,” “Teen Wolf” and the “2013 MTV Video Music Awards.”
•   Original new-form MTV Other series including Late Night Munchies, Inside Joke, Rock Stories.

Access to full-length episodes in the MTV/MTV2 app will be included as part of a subscriber’s TV service package that includes MTV and/or MTV2 from any one of nine distributors, including AT&T U-verse, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, DIRECTV, Hawaiian Telecom, RCN, Suddenlink, Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS, which collectively reach almost 50 million homes.



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