Vevo Plans to Challenge MTV on TV, Too

Vevo, the popular website that streams music videos from major labels, would like to transcend the world wide web and launch its own TV channel, according to a New York Post interview with CEO Rio Caraeff.

Vevo argues that it is the top destination for music video programming on the web, though MTV Networks gets more traffic when you include all kinds of content, and much of Vevo’s traffic runs through YouTube.

The site is backed by three of the four major record labels — Universal, Sony and EMI — while Warner Bros. works with MTV. If anyone is well-positioned to bring more music content to cable and satellite TV, it’s Vevo.

MTV is putting on a public face of confidence in the face of new competition. When we inquired about MTV’s take on this news, an MTV spokesperson told us, “We welcome new players in the music video category and think any exposure for music is good for the industry and everyone in it, from Fuse to Vevo to all of our music video services from Palladia to Pure Country.”

That said, Vevo’s plans are still in their early stages. Vevo has no agreements in place with cable or satellite TV providers, and many people are critical of any suggestion that music videos by themselves can sustain a stand-alone television channel profitably. MTV didn’t move to reality programming on a whim; it found out over time that programming in that vein was far more lucrative than airing music videos on a loop.

Even though The New York Post reports Vevo is planning on launching a TV channel, the company’s living room-invasion strategy for now seems to be based mostly on streaming online content to set-top boxes and other Internet-connected devices in the home.

We’ll have to keep an eye on Vevo to see if its television channel becomes a reality or remains a pipe dream.

[via mashable]

Posted in: Entertainment,MTV,Vevo