Viacom Details Mobile Content and Marketing Advances

By Bob Wallace

Content giant Viacom Inc. on Wednesday announced progress in its mobile marketing efforts with the signing on of Intel and Pepsi as wireless advertisers, and news that its MTV Networks, BET Networks and Paramout Pictures are launching video-rich wireless Web sites.

The broad-sweeping advances were detailed by Viacom President and CEO Philippe Dauman in his keynote address at CTIA Wireless 2007 in Orlando, Fla.

“Wireless is an integral part of Viacom’s strategy of staying deeply connected to our audiences wherever they are, and allowing them to consume our content however they wish no matter what the platform, said Dauman.

He said his firms mobile media marketing efforts will create a new revenue stream for our company, which will help fuel further content innovation and growth on wireless. Mobile advertising allows our marketing partners to engage with audiences in an exciting, ground-breaking way.”

These milestone marketing efforts are part of a fast-emerging trend where content owners focus hard on monetizing their wide array of assets. And, beyond new revenue streams, content owners like Viacom are looking to wireless and the Internet to help promote, and build loyalty for, their network TV programming through the use of exclusive content, promotional clips and so-called mobisodes.

MTV Networks announced that Pepsi-Cola North America and Intel Corpo. have signed on as charter sponsors for a variety of MTVN’s mobile offerings. The move, which marks the first time MTVN is selling advertising across its mobile portfolio, represents new opportunities for marketers to bring their brands to life in an integrated fashion across the networks digital platforms, from online to wireless.

The Pepsi and Intel brands will feature prominently on the MTV and COMEDY CENTRAL mobile TV channels, as well as the all-new MTV, VH1 and COMEDY CENTRAL mobile Web sites that are debuting today.

MTVN also announced an expanded partnership with Sprint Nextel Corp. to bring more of the networks popular music, entertainment, kids and comedy programming to Sprint customers. In total, Sprint now offers 14 different live streaming and VoD channels featuring MTVN content ¬ the most of any carrier.

Sprint is also offering streams of content from MTV, Nickelodeon and COMEDY CENTRAL and a new GameTrailers mobile video channel.

COMEDY CENTRAL launched South Park 10: The Game, a 40-level action/adventure mobile game based on the first 10 seasons of the Emmy and Peabody-award winning series. The game will be available in the United States and Europe and will be distributed on major wireless carriers.

MTV Networks Kids and Family Group and Amp’d Mobile announced a new partnership where content from Nickelodeon and The N will appear within new channels on Amp’d Live mobile service beginning this week. As part of the new partnership, Nickelodeon and Amp’d also will launch in the second quarter a completely separate channel based on the property SpongeBob SquarePants.

GameTrailers.com, the premier provider of video for gamers, announced the launch of its new mobile video channel. As part of the mobile debut, GameTrailers will unveil “Go Gaming,” an original mobile series dedicated entirely to coverage of wireless games. GT gaming content will be distributed to Amp’d customers beginning in the second quarter, with a roll-out across all carriers in the coming months.

BET Networks launched the 106 & Park Mobile Fan Club, which extends the No. 1 music video show on television to the mobile phone by offering fan club members free ringtones, a subscription to the 106 & Park mobile magazine, access to exclusive content and events and more.

Paramount Pictures launched a mobile movie studio site that features micro-sites for individual movie releases, making it the first film studio to do so, it said. Users text “Movies” to 33287 to access, browse and purchase movie-related content from their mobile phones and sign up to receive alerts about films released by the studio.

These sites also link to Fandango, the nation’s largest movie-ticketing service, allowing consumers to buy tickets for movies at their local theater.

Viacom Inc. www.viacom.com