MTV Networks embraces Web chaos to regain viewers

By Kenneth Li

NEW YORK (Reuters) - MTV Networks, owner of the MTV and Comedy Central channels, is pushing a risky new Web strategy to win back young viewers from the likes of YouTube and MySpace.

The network, which already has 150 Web sites in 162 countries, plans to build literally thousands more, hoping to draw viewers by letting them watch, contribute and even re-edit its television shows.

"People tend to find content on the Internet through thousands of front doors as opposed to one," said Mika Salmi, the new digital president of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom Inc..

"In some ways we're in a better position than most media companies are -- we're where people want to be."

The music channel MTV was once synonymous with youth culture, but popular social networks like News Corp.'s MySpace.com and Google Inc.'s online video-sharing site YouTube have siphoned away some of its viewers.

MTV Networks' new strategy is part of an effort by Viacom to reach a wider audience that is spending as much time on the Internet and on video games as watching television, and no longer cares when or where programming is shown.

It aims to build Web sites related to every personality and aspect of its shows, hoping to catch viewers wherever they happen to be on the Internet and on mobile phones, Salmi said in an interview.

It has created three virtual worlds -- Laguna Beach for teenagers, Nicktropolis for children and Virtual Hills for young adults -- and says more Web sites can help it go deeper to promote individual shows and personalities.

The move is a risky one for Viacom as it could breed confusion and dilute corporate branding, especially for a company whose Web strategy has been difficult to discern.

Compare it to News Corp's focus on MySpace -- a property Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone had once coveted -- which is an anchor for News Corp., Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

It is one of a number of experiments by the media industry to sell, rent and stream for free programs over the Internet.

But Viacom appears to more aggressive than its peers in freeing up its content, lit by an urgency to protect and grow its core youth market.

Viewers will have a degree of control uncommon for media corporations, Salmi said.

An example of this approach is Lucasfilm Ltd.'s lax policies on letting fans post re-edited clips of Star Wars, which has helped sustain the franchise for years.

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