MTV, Rogers launch co-branded content

On the air, on demand, online - a new partnership between MTV in Canada and Rogers is pushing out free music content on multiple platforms. And there's a social networking and UGC twist to the deal.
By Jesse Kohl
May 26, 2008

MTV in Canada is teaming up with Rogers Wireless to give music fans co-branded exclusive content on multiple platforms. The three major initiatives launching are My Playlist, a content-based social network that lets users customize and share video content, The Leak, a first listen music program, and Rogers Presents MTV Live at the Concert Hall, which kicked off with the release of performances by Panic at the Disco and Sam Roberts.

My Playlist, powered by Rogers MusicStore at mtv.ca/playlist, allows users to create a personalized playlist of music videos, performances and shows. Users can also host their own playlists with customized uploaded video introductions, share it with friends and check out celebrity playlists. My Playlist is supported across MTV platforms with co-branded 30-second spots and banners. Users’ playlists are featured weekly on MTV’s flagship interactive series, MTV Live.

Mtv.ca/theleak, also powered by Rogers MusicStore, is a global MTV franchise that streams new releases to Rogers Vision phones before the albums are available for purchase. The streams are free. The Leak is supported on the channel and mtv.ca via MTV in Canada-produced co-branded 30-second spots.

A nationwide contest gave one Canadian and five friends a trip to Toronto to see Sam Roberts and Panic at the Disco, the first of the Rogers Presents MTV Live at The Concert Hall performance series. The May 15 performances were promoted on MTV in Canada with a multiplatform broadcast and online campaign. MTV.ca is streaming the concerts, along with exclusive extras. The Sam Roberts concert aired on CTV on Saturday, May 24 at midnight, while Panic at the Disco is scheduled for the same time slot on May 31. The interactive series MTV Live has already pushed out some highlights, and the shows are hitting Rogers Video on Demand and Rogers Vision phones.

‘New technology has unleashed our audience’s demand for more content and more occasions to watch it, listen to it, interact with it, customize it and share it,’ says Brad Schwartz, SVP and GM for CTV’s Much MTV Group. ‘Our partnership with Rogers gives fans and music lovers access to their favourite content across multiple platforms – on TV, online, in person, on their cell phones and on VOD. Research shows that engagement is increased in the minds of our audience when media and advertising embrace multiple platforms at the same time, and that is exactly what this partnership is all about.’