PHILIPPINES, 5 November 2013 – Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Asia, a division of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB) today announced it has entered into an agreement with Viva Communications, Inc., to collaborate on local production, on-ground events and marketing and advertising sales for MTV Philippines. Effective January 2014, MTV Philippines will become a dedicated Filipino feed and be re-branded as MTV Pinoy and reach over 1.22 million Filipino households.
The importance of the Philippines for the 24-hour world class youth entertainment channel is demonstrated not only through the channel’s current availability in the Philippines through an MTV Asia feed, but also through a weekly program, 100% Pinoy, which is dedicated to introduce and feature Filipino acts to viewers across the region.
“We have a strong MTV fan base from the Philippines, so this move demonstrates our commitment to strengthen local programming and cater to the specific viewing preferences of Filipino millennials. It is vital for us to find the right partner who is not only able to help extend MTV’s presence and deepen our brand engagement, but shares the same synergy as we continue to promote and reflect local and cultural tastes and music talents across the region,” said VIMN Asia’s executive vice president and managing director, Indra Suharjono. “Over the past twelve months, we’ve seen our business evolve and hit new milestones in the Philippines, where we further expanded Comedy Central Asia, MTV Live and Nick Jr. distribution in the Philippines, so this is yet another milestone that reinforces how invested we are in this market.”
Plans for MTV Pinoy include local productions, on-ground events and an enhanced range of programs specially catered for the Philippines youth market, including the “MTV VJ Hunt” for the Philippines. The selected MTV VJs will become the extension of the brand’s personality in the Philippines, present MTV Pinoy’s original productions, introduce viewers to the hottest local and international talents that go through the Philippines. The plan is to fully localize MTV Pinoy – made in Philippines for Filipino viewers.
“Viva Communications is very excited to collaborate with VIMN to launch such an iconic youth entertainment brand like MTV by leveraging our strengths in local production and our strong relationships with agencies and advertisers,” said Vic del Rosario Jr., chairman and CEO, Viva Communications, Inc. “We are confident in our ability to bring great Pinoy programming that will help grow a strong base of core viewers across the Philippines and enable MTV to be more locally relevant to subscribers.”
Five months ago, Viva had commenced as Comedy Central Asia’s provincial distributor in the Philippines.
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About Viva Communications, Inc.
Viva was established in 1981 as a film production company. Over the years, Viva Communications has become one of the largest entertainment companies in the Philippines with interests in movie production, home video, artist management, music, concert and event management, and pay television.
About MTV
MTV is the world’s premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. Outside of the United States, MTV is part of Viacom International Media Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. For information about MTV in Southeast Asia, visit www.mtvasia.com.
About Viacom International Media Networks
Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), is comprised of many of the world’s most popular multimedia entertainment brands, including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, Paramount Channel, VH1, VIVA, COLORS, Game One and Tr3s: MTV, Música y Más. Viacom brands are seen globally in more than 600 million households in 170 territories and 37 languages via more than 200 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 550 digital media and mobile TV properties. For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com. Keep up with Viacom news by following Viacom’s blog at blog.viacom.com and Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/Viacom.
Media Contacts:
Viacom International Media Networks
Adeline Ong, Senior Director, Corporate Communications, Asia
t: (65) 6420 7240 m: (65) 9366 7323
e: adeline.ong@vimn.com
Viva Communications, Inc.
Andrew de Castro, Channel Head – MTV Pinoy
t: (63) 2 6876181 loc 613 m: (63) 9399 157400
e: adecastro@viva.ph