MTV – Going from a “want” to becoming a “NEED” for today’s youth

Recently, Reuters reported that MTV Networks will invest more than $500 million in games. Let’s take a moment and reflect on that figure. FIVE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS. That’s a lot of money being spent on something that until recently was categorized as an activity for overgrown man-childs living in their parents’ basements. What is behind this cash injection? Eyeballs are leaving the TV screen for the gaming screens.

According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 28 hours of television a week. A funny thing happens, however, once people discover gaming and online games. According to the Daedalus Project, a site dedicated to researching the psychology of Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), the average MMORPG gamer spends 21 hours a week playing the game and only 7.7 hours a week watching television.

There are only a finite number of hours in any given day, so unless one decides to forego some of life’s necessities (eating, sleeping, etc.), one form of activity must give way to another. What’s interesting to note that the total number of hours spent in these leisure activities has not changed but rather the allocation of that time. In addition, nearly half of MTV’s viewers play games, not a surprise considering the focus on youth entertainment.

Much like how MTV sparked a TV revolution and made the music video a mainstay in pop culture, it wants to play a leading role in the next era of entertainment. To get a leg-up, MTV acquired Harmonix (NYTimes.com – free registration required), the developer behind the highly regarded Guitar Hero series of games, and they will be releasing Rock Band in November 2007. Other recent acquisitions by MTV related to the gaming and online space are: Atom Entertainment (Shockwave.com), Xfire (online game networking service), and GameTrailers.com.

So what does MTV hope to do with these acquisitions? At a minimum, MTV is creating an infrastructure and ecosystem in which they can be front and center. At best, MTV becomes the entertainment focus for a new generation. Imagine the multiple touchpoint opportunities for the brand as someone who is watching a new music video by their favorite band (on TV, on their PC, on their cell phone) is alerted to the fact that this new single is now available as a download on Xbox Live for Rock Band. Combine this with the ability to compete against friends on Xbox Live and be able to record the competition and then upload the video to “User Movies” section on GameTrailers.com. The “rock-off” generates so much buzz that the people involved become instant pseudo-rock celebrities so they actually get signed by MTV for the latest season of “Making the Band.” And this cycle continues to propagate.

Beyond creating a ubiquitous presence for the MTV brand, think of the viewer/usage CRM data that MTV would be able to mine. Considering the fickle nature of the youth market, having a constant finger on the pulse of what’s hot or not could also help MTV customize their viewership’s interaction with the brand. Add to this the premium in advertising fees MTV could charge to advertisers to get tailored messages to the viewers/users with which the messages would resonate reaching the consumers at every level in the mediums they interact in (TV, games, web, etc.).

In the 80’s MTV had some great, campy TV commercials that always ended with someone saying “I want my MTV!” With this move towards becoming the entertainment nexus, perhaps the new slogan will be “I can’t live without my MTV?”