Dubai: MTV is going to have a new avatar — as a music app. Viacom, which owns the iconic music video channel, plans to introduce a regional version of the My MTV app within the next six months.

And this is part of an orderly transition that the US media giant plans to have to offer content to regional audiences on both TV and any other platform that draws in significant numbers. It has already done so with the kid-focussed Nickelodeon, a move that has “proved successful”, according to a top official.

“There’s consumption and growth in movement towards mobile and web platforms, and we want to be in a position to lead in both the linear [content viewed principally on TV] and non-linear [everything outside of TV] channels,” said Raffaele Annecchino, managing director of Viacom South Europe, Middle East and Africa. “We will follow up the MTV app with one for Comedy Central and others.”

Choosing MTV for the second app launch does make a lot of business sense. Its traditional audience of the young — and even the young at heart — is among the fastest to migrate to getting their content fill on mobile platforms and when on the go. MTV’s TV version continues to have a committed following in some of the Gulf markets and Lebanon. (In the US, the brand is going through some major makeover in terms of content programming and the like.)

Meanwhile, Viacom is all set to launch three new TV channels to the mix that it already offers via pay-TV provider OSN. This includes Paramount, a HD-based offering of movies from the US studio bearing the same name and part of the Viacom portfolio. “It will be a combination of brand [that is, Paramount] and the content [all the movies it has helmed],” said Annecchino.

“It’s about story-telling and curation — apart from the movies, there will be behind the scenes commentary.”

On the curating side, there will be a lot to pick and choose from, given that Paramount Studios has been making films for more than 100 years. Of more recent vintage, it has been behind ‘Fences’, which netted Viola Davis a best supporting actress Oscar, another Oscar-nominated ‘Arrival’ and the Brad Pitt-vehicle ‘Allied’.

“In this region, we are still seeing growth on pay-TV,” said Annecchino. “We are the biggest international content provider on the OSN platform and we will continue to expand on both linear and non-linear ways with them. That includes OSN’s Play and Go platforms. At this moment, it’s agreed that OSN will remain our exclusive partner.”

The other two channels being launched are Nickelodeon spin-offs, targeting defined demographics within the kids’ universe. Of late, brand Nickelodeon has been getting a lot of air time outside of TV as well. Standalone Nickelodeon stores have opened in the Gulf, selling merchandise from the many hit shows and characters. There is going to be a theme park in Dubai, which will keep the flag flying high when it opens late 2019.

For that matter, even Paramount will have its banner up in the Dubai sky, with the branded hotel and serviced apartments project well under way. Another case of branding and content mixing well.

TV still ruling charts in region

* Pay-TV is expected to reach 19.52 million homes by 2022, with revenues of up to $4.12 billion. Globally, three-in-four adults watch at least one movie a week, and 82 per cent of them do that only at home. And 92 per cent of respondents in the Middle East watch films on television, making it the most popular platform, according to Viacom findings.

* Worldwide, 83 per cent of adults between 16-54 agree that they love watching movies. In the Middle East, the percentage is even higher, with 89 per cent reporting that they love watching movies.