Debut on Japan's Biggest Mobile Platform Follows Successful Launches on "EZweb" and "J-sky"
MTV is Only Music TV Brand to Offer Content on Japan's Top Three Mobile Carriers
December 18, 2001
MTV Japan will launch a new MTV Mobile content service on NTT DoCoMo, Japan's biggest mobile platform with 27 million users, starting today. Available on NTT DoCoMo's popular "i-mode" service, the debut of the MTV Mobile service follows successful launches in May on KDDI and TU-KA's "EZweb" and J-Phone's "J-sky." The launch makes MTV Japan the only music TV brand in the market with a content presence on the three top mobile platforms in Japan, the world's biggest wireless market.
"The launch of MTV Mobile on NTT DoCoMo's 'i-mode' platform, the largest in Japan, is significant because more Japanese youth access the Internet via mobile than PC," commented Nigel Robbins, President & CEO, MTV Group Japan. "As the only music TV brand with a presence on the three largest mobile platforms, MTV Japan will continue to offer young people exciting, innovative content on-air, online and through other new technologies."
Users can subscribe to MTV Mobile for 200 yen per month and have the ability to access exclusive contents such as news, playlists, MTV logos, wallpaper (designed by internationally renowned creative groups like Future Farmers, North and State Design), and voting mechanisms for MTV Japan's video request shows such as Control Freak. The launch also provides creative sponsorship opportunities that can be linked to MTV Japan's on-air and online content.
Other features on MTV Mobile include a database with information about popular signature MTV shows and events such as MTV Unplugged and the MTV Video Music Awards, a forum for users to offer their opinions on a variety of topics including the latest music releases, and video streaming of artist spots and promotional idents. NTT DoCoMo "i-mode" users can exclusively access a feature that offers information about the popular MTV Japan programme World Chart Express, which introduces music fans to video clips popular on other MTV channels worldwide.
MTV Mobile set records over the summer as the most accessed content within the music category on the menu lists of KDDI and TU-KA's mobile Internet platforms. Recent popular initiatives included a Backstreet Boys competition in November where the winner got to meet the popular band during their Japanese tour as well as a promotion surrounding the newly opened Tommy Girl shop in Tokyo by Tommy Hilfiger. The multi-platform (TV, Web and mobile) one week promotion offered consumers the chance to win a t-shirt via mtvjapan.com and MTV Mobile as well as by visiting the Tommy Girl shop.
All MTV channels worldwide seek interaction with young people across multiple media platforms with content strands seen on PC broadband, interactive TV, the World Wide Web, mobile phones, pagers, personal digital assistants, and more. Last month, MTV Networks Europe announced the launch of a branded MTV Mobile content delivery service for the first time in Europe in partnership with content wireless applications service provider Distefora Mobile. The pan-European service utilises popular SMS (short message system) technology to cohesively link TV, online and mobile content through MTV's network of 14 localised TV channels and nine Web sites in Europe. Offering SMS voting for video requests, teletext chat, competitions, news, trivia and picture messaging related to MTV, the easy to use service is also the first to operate using a short code (2MTV or 2688) to access content instead of a traditional telephone number. Each localised MTV Web site will have dedicated MTV Mobile pages where users can access quizzes, games and find out what else is on offer in each market in local languages. The company plans to extend content delivery via SMS to its other popular European brands, including VH1, Nickelodeon, TMF (The Music Factory) and KinderNet, with more details to be announced soon.
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