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MANILA – November 5, 2013 – Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Asia, a division of Viacom Inc. 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 rebranded as MTV Pinoy. MTV Pinoy will reach over 1.22 million Filipino households, VIMN said in a press release.
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, and 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,” he said.
Five months ago, Viva commenced as Comedy Central Asia’s provincial distributor in the Philippines.
