Broadband portal Excite@Home (ATHM) and MTVi
this week cozied up to one another, announcing plans to develop a
co-branded broadband music site, which MTVi has agreed to promote on the
MTV and VH1 cable properties.
MTVi will also be the exclusive advertising sales force for the music.excite.com site, where it is
expected to experiment with the rich media opportunities the broadband
world offers.
Besides straight promotion on MTV and VH1, the deal also calls for the
companies to create content on the music.excite.com site that corresponds
with MTV and VH1 programming, thereby driving fans of those shows online to
seek more information. MTVi is a unit of MTV Networks, which is owned by
Viacom Inc. (VIA).
“This deal is a brand, content and creative collaboration, and serves as
the cornerstone of our music strategy and is a first in melding on-air
programs with the broadband experience,” said George Bell, president and
chief executive officer of Excite@Home.
“With this deal, we will uniquely bring together our broadband capabilities
with MTV on-air programming, music and entertainment. The convergence of
the TV audience and broadband is a natural one and we plan to give both
early and experienced broadband users exposure to all the Web has to offer
in music and entertainment through unique broadband applications.”
