MTV, Verizon Do On-Demand Dance
Network, Telco Give Subs VOD Access To Jackson’s ‘Best Dance Crew’
By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 2/5/2008 1:56:00 AM
MTV Networks plans to step onto the television screens of Verizon Communications customers with exclusive next-day episode replays of a new dance competition.
FiOS TV video-on-demand subscribers will be able to access episodes of MTV’s Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew24 hours after the show debuts on MTV, as part of a recent agreement reached between the parties.
The replays will begin with the show’s Feb. 7 premiere episode, according to MTV Networks senior vice president of content distribution and marketing Juliette Morris.
The Jackson series, produced by the well-known American Idol judge, pits several dance crews against each other for the chance to win a cash prize and touring contract.
The deal marks the first exclusive arrangement between MTV and the 1 million-subscriber Verizon FIOS TV service since the phone company launched MTV’s VOD service in May 2006. The network has created several exclusive VOD offerings for cable system operators since launching the service in 2004.
All told, MTV VOD, which offers approximately 20 hours a month of network-related content, posted a 145% increase in on-demand orders vs. 2006, although the network would not reveal specific figures.
“We are really committed to the growth and success of all of our distributor partners, and this was something that Verizon saw huge value in as a new entrant to the market,” Morris said. “We saw it as a great opportunity to start a new and exciting marketing partnership together.”
Verizon director of media relations Sharon Cohen-Hagar said the exclusive deal was one of many the telco hopes to secure as it looks to compete with cable operators for subscribers.
“We’re always looking for content that other carriers don’t have because it adds value in our service and it’s what customers are looking to us to offer,” Cohen-Hagar said. “Music is one of our most popular categories and the MTV offerings do very well for us,” she said without revealing specific download numbers.
In addition to series episodes, Verizon FiOS TV is also providing exclusive access to MTV dance-related content including the hottest dance trends emerging in New York City and Los Angeles, as well as step-by-step dance instructions given by dancers featured on America’s Best Dance Crew.
Morris would not predict how successful the offering will be on Verizon but did say that the exclusive content should provide even greater value to Verizon’s MTV VOD offering.
“We’ve had incredible usage success off of dance instructional video and content like this, so we believe given the interest that our viewers have in the series and made for medium content should get a tremendous amount of usage,” she said.
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