MTV India goes beyond 'music television'

In order to incorporate newer programming formats into its scheme of shows, MTV India, the music channel owned by Viacom18, has dropped ‘Music Television’ from its logo as part of its restructuring exercise that began two years ago. Currently, the channel plays only 40 per cent music, out of the total programming content, while the rest is filled up by reality shows, talk shows and talent hunt shows. 

Explaining the need for the revamp, Ashish Patil, general manager and senior VP of MTV India, said in a statement: “We were born of music, inspired by music, driven by music but not limited to music. MTV is about new ideas, new formats and new ways of reaching people...”

“MTV is about constant change and the guts to throw it all away and make it new and important again. MTV is beyond music, beyond television. Our audience is not just on television but on facebook, twitter, mobile and several other platforms. We want to cater to all of them. Also, there are so many other channels that play music, hence music has to be interspersed with several other formats,” Patil said.

As part of its programming restructuring, MTV India will also be present across media platforms like mobile phone, website and voice portal.