Spike, IFILM Team Up to Target Men
IFILM CEO Steps Down; MTVN Creates IFILM/SpikeTV.com Group
By Steve Donohue -- Multichannel News, 3/22/2007 1:10:00 PM
MTV Networks said it is combining its IFILM and SpikeTV.com units under a single platform that will focus on the Spike brand.
While the company plans to eventually merge the two Web properties into a single site, it hasn’t yet decided when it will launch the combined Web site or what its domain name will be, MTVN spokeswoman Aileen Budow said. But the new site will contain the Spike brand, she added.
As part of the consolidation -- which will see IFILM and Spike TV focus on the men 18-34 demographic -- MTVN said IFILM CEO Blair Harrison is stepping down.
The newly created IFILM/SpikeTV.com group will report to Erik Flannigan, senior vice president of digital media at MTVN Entertainment Group, MTVN said.
No other job cuts are planned as part of the consolidation, Budow said.
While IFILM and Spike TV will continue to have their own Web sites in the near term, MTVN said it plans to “leverage Spike TV’s brand and on-air promotion power to elevate IFILM.” In addition, SpikeTV.com “will draw on the IFILM platform to stake out a position as the go-to viral-video site for guys,” the programmer added.
MTVN, which is owned by Viacom, announced the new Web strategy on the same day that rivals News Corp. and NBC Universal announced plans to launch a new Web site to distribute videos and movies.
Viacom sued YouTube and its parent company, Google, earlier this month for $1 billion, alleging copyright infringement.
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