‘VIACOM PLAY PLEX’ SUITE OF BRANDED MOBILE APPS TO PREMIERE IN ASIA WITH SINGTEL IN SINGAPORE
ALSO MARKS SIX CHANNELS ON SINGTEL TV WITH PLANNED LAUNCH OF MTV CHINA AND MTV LIVE IN 2016
BALI, 27 APRIL 2016 - Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Asia, a division of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), today announced its first Asia distribution deal for Viacom Play Plex, a suite of mobile apps – Nickelodeon Play, Nick Jr. Play, MTV Play and Comedy Central Play – which will debut first in Singapore via a collaboration with Singtel. Packaging details will be announced as part of the rollout at a later date within the second half of the year. In addition, the agreement includes a new licensing deal for MTV China and MTV Live to be launched on Singtel TV’s subscription service in 2016, marking a total of six of its channels on Singtel’s Pay-TV platform. The agreement also gives Singtel linear OTT rights for VIMN’s channels.
Viacom Play Plex offers distribution partners a separate mobile Play app for each of Viacom’s major international brands, offering video-on-demand (VOD) access to a range of current and library content, other content including short-form content, games on Nickelodeon Play and Nick Jr. Play, and pre-school music videos on Nick Jr. Play. Designed and programmed to promote discovery, Nickelodeon Play allows kids to watch and play, get direct access to Nickelodeon content they love whenever and wherever. In other markets, Viacom Play Plex comes with an option for distribution partners to take on a live, local linear stream of the relevant channel.
Mark Whitehead, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Viacom International Media Networks Asia, commented: "Viacom Play Plex offers us maximum flexibility in distributing our content as the way viewers consume their favorite TV shows continues to evolve. We are delighted to have Singtel be the first in Asia to launch these apps, which are designed to complement our linear pay TV channels and to allow our existing distribution partners like Singtel to deepen and improve the entertainment experience they offer their mobile subscribers, particularly in the fast-growing mobile TV sector. Ultimately, this positions us to succeed in a world of more personalized entertainment services and greater consumer choice."
"We only work with the best content providers and we are excited to be working with Viacom for their launch of Viacom Play Plex in Asia," said Mr Goh Seow Eng, Managing Director, Home Services, Singtel. "With our vast network and open video platform, we are able to provide our Singtel Mobile customers with an innovative user experience that’s adaptable to their viewing habits."
Mobile viewers in Singapore will enjoy an intuitive, video-focused user interface and enhanced video player, which reduces loading and buffering times, as well as an algorithmic menu that adapts to their tastes. Apps will include social and sharing components, and will be available in both iOS and Android to download from the Apple App store and Google Play store respectively.
Each branded Play app will be localized for each country in which it is made available, both in terms of programming and available content, giving users more ways to access Viacom’s global hits such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Catfish and Lip Sync Battle, as well as local productions.
"Viacom Play Plex allows mobile subscribers to watch the TV shows they love from their favorite Viacom brands anytime and anywhere. We believe no other international entertainment company is offering this type of innovation at this scale, serving every major demographic in every major TV market," continued Whitehead.
Since the fourth quarter of 2015, the Viacom Play Plex apps have been made available to launch in all of the 180 international territories in which Viacom owns and operates TV channels**.
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Notes to Editors
* Nickelodeon Play app was awarded the Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media – User Experience and Visual Design in September 2013.
** Excluding the U.S. where Viacom Media Networks already offers a range of authenticated mobile apps to support its TV channel brands.
The full list of apps available via Viacom Play Plex is as follows:
* Comedy Central Play, MTV Play, Nickelodeon Play, Nick Jr. Play, Paramount Channel Play, Spike Play and BET Play.
Research from Viacom Strategic Insights illustrates the appeal of TV Everywhere (TVE) mobile TV services, allowing subscribers mobile access to their pay TV packages. Almost all respondents to a recent research study said TVE services added value to existing pay TV subscriptions, while more than 9 in 10 agreed they were more likely to stay with their pay TV provider because of TVE. In the U.S., 8 in 10 viewers with access to authenticated TVE apps use them to watch TV daily via mobile, while more than 6 in 10 have watched more TV overall since starting to use TVE.
About Viacom International Media Networks
Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), is comprised of many of the world’s most popular multimedia entertainment brands, including MTV, MTV LIVE HD, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Comedy Central, Paramount Channel, and more. Viacom brands reach more than 3.4 billion cumulative subscribers in 180+ countries and territories via more than 200 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 550 digital media and mobile TV properties, in 40 languages. Keep up with VIMN news by visiting the VIMN PR Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/VIMN_PR. For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com, blog.viacom.com and the Viacom Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/Viacom.
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