After letting 250 employees go last week, The New York Times looks at MTV Network’s attempts to adapt to the modern media marketplace.
MTV has been madly programming screens of all sizes and looking to engage consumers on whatever device they choose, but it has been slow going. Rising above the clutter was a lot easier when we were all staring into the same campfire.
“It’s true that our viewers are telling us that they want an experience beyond linear television,” said Christina Norman, MTV’s president. “MTV has a history of surrounding the consumer with both long-form and interstitial content, and I think we can deliver on a two-way relationship with our audience.”
MTV’s core audience is busy blogging, gaming, texting, instant messaging, etc. Interrupting these activities won’t be easy for MTV, nor for any media company or marketer seeking to do the same. Which is why media makers are busy trying to find a way to fit into these realms.
Life was so much simpler in the 1980s.
