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Technology Stocks : IATV-ACTV Digital Convergence Software-HyperTV -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: art slott who wrote (4627)	6/9/1999 6:26:00 PM
From: Stealhead	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13157

Excerpt from a recent Multichannel International article titled: It's Not Just Television Anymore Stroking the revenue stream involves a whole lot more that pay TV these days. Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks is another programmer with well established global brands such as MTV, Nickelodeon and VH1. The company is aggressively going after Internet and interactive business. "It fits our existing business perfectly," says Bill Roedy, president, international, MTV Networks. "It fits our demographic, and builds on the success of the 'dot coms.'" In February, Viacom announced plans to create a new Internet division, which expects to launch an online site in June for music fans, and a children's web destination in September. Roedy says they will be cross-promoted heavily on the TV channels, but will cast a wider net than the networks in their effort to get a piece of the already extremely fragmented Internet market. They'll offer services such as e-mail, chat forums, user-programmable audio channels, links to related content sites and e-commerce. "We're creating new portals, one for music - covering all genres, not just MTV and VH1 - and one for kids, not just Nickelodeon fans," he adds. Roedy expects advertising to be the most significant revenue generator on the Web, and it should "kick in fairly nicely straight away," he says. He reckons that e-commerce and subscriptions, in that order, will also play their part in making these new Web ventures profitable. But Roedy is also keen to stress that with the arrival of digital, MTV Networks is also looking to expand its TV business, and sees the Internet as complementary and beneficial, rather than a threat to this core activity. "The Internet business and channels will develop in tandem," he says. "Our viewers already use both their computer and television screen to watch MTV. In Europe, we launched M2 on the Internet before starting the television channel, and this connection will increase as interactive TV develops further." multi-international.com SH