MTV is to launch OTT apps MTV Play and MTV Trax, giving mobile network operators on-demand access to its extensive international content library.
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 of 16 to 24-year-olds regularly watch TV shows on a smartphone, according to recent research by MTV’s international parent company, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN).
The MTV Play service has been developed in partnership with multi-screen platform developer Vigour. The application enables consumers to ‘flick’ content from their smartphone to other connected screens, such as a tablet or smart TV, using an internet connection.
Launching on 5 March with mobile network partners in Germany, Switzerland and Romania, subscribers to MTV Mobile branded tariffs with these operators will get free access to MTV Play, while other consumers in those countries will be able to directly access the same content for €2.99 per month or €29.99 per annum. Subscribers will get access to a library of more than 1,500 hours of MTV’s TV content, as well as a preview episode of new series in advance of their linear TV transmission.
For network operators looking to diversify, MTV Play allows them to move into multiplatform solutions, whilst maintaining mobile as the central hub for their services.
VIMN is also launching an OTT mobile digital music service, MTV Trax. The app offers consumers a ‘music experience’ curated by MTV, featuring 100 tracks downloaded to their smartphone and updated daily.
“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,” commented Bob Bakish, president and CEO of VIMN.