MTV Lays Out $500 Mln for Games

The youth-oriented TV market will continue its expansion into different markets with a heavy investment in games for both die-hard and casual players.

MTV’s forays into reality television, global activism, film and other niches have made the name “Music Television Network” a bit of a running joke over the years, so it should come as no surprise that games are the next medium in MTV’s sights. Reuters reported Thursday that MTV plans to sink $500 million into its game division over the next two years.

"As we take our brands narrow and deep to serve our targeted, niche audiences, we’re putting well over $500 million behind building our games business across all of the brands in our portfolio," MTV chairman and chief executive Judy McGrath told Reuters. McGrath said that developing games based on MTV shows was of particular interest to the company.

MTV has already begun to make its presence felt in the gaming world with Rock Band, a music-making title from the Harmonix, a company it bought last year. The game created major waves at this year’s E3 summit, and sales expectations are high for its Nov. 20 release. The network also owns Atom Entertainment, creators of AddictingGames.com, which has seen traffic jump 84 percent in July, according to Reuters.