MTV: Lessons From a Nimble YouTube Programming Approach
Apr 22, 2020
The brand is populating its 12 channels with longer content that’s made for binge-watching, even without the benefit of traditional production.
When fans visit MTV’s Wild ’N Out YouTube channel it's usually during the in-between moments: in subway cars, waiting for a friend, at the airport. But now that millions are housebound due to coronavirus concerns, lovers of the improv and sketch comedy series are binge-watching clips of Nick Cannon and the rest of the cast 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
As a result, MTV evolved its programming strategy to meet new consumption behaviors, leaning further into long-form content. The brand has managed these increases even amid a current shutdown of new production of its original, digital-native series like MTV No Filter and Sneaker Wars. Its shift in strategy led to an increase in subscribers—the brand now has more than 17.7 million across its YouTube ecosystem—and a new record for minutes watched. In March, there were 1.74 billion minutes watched across MTV’s 12 YouTube channels, which is more than double from the same month last year.
"The response from our audiences has led to overwhelming watch time growth for us across the platform."
“Our programming strategies are designed to lean into existing user behaviors and habits,’” explains Tyler Hissey, vp of marketing and social media for MTV, VH1, CMT, and Logo. “Those behaviors have changed fundamentally during these unprecedented times, and viewers are now parked on the couch watching content for hours. With increased demand on YouTube, we’re programming longer-form comfort food, comedy, and escapism content. The response from our audiences has led to overwhelming watch time growth for us across the platform.”
Entertaining With Extended Cuts
With studio production out of commission, the brand has dipped into its deep archives and creatively re-mixed legacy footage in engaging ways to keep its YouTube channels fresh. The Wild ’N Out channel alone set a new record of more than 948 million minutes watched in March—the most of any ViacomCBS channel on the video platform—by debuting a new series of longer compilation videos.
The top-performing video on the Wild ’N Out channel in March was “Best of DC Young Fly Part 2,” which logged more than 144 million minutes watched and 10.4M views—the most of any video on any ViacomCBS channel last month. The brand has also seen hour-long videos like “Every Single Season 13 Wildstyle,” posted March 27, garner more than 7.6 million views and the highest watch time ever for a compilation video, with 194 million minutes watched.
“Wild ’N Out just keeps growing for us,” says Hissey. “In 2019, that channel drove more than 1 billion views on its own. Since fans of the show are hungrier for content right now, we’re meeting the growing audience demand with longer uploads as we continue to maintain an always-on social and YouTube programming strategy for the franchise.”
The dedicated Wild ’N Out channel currently has more than 7.7 million subscribers, and about half of its IP-led channels have more than 100,000 subscribers, including the flagship MTV channel (6.7 million+), Jersey Shore (1.1 million+), Ridiculousness (633K+), and Catfish (396K+).
Seeing how well the videos worked for Wild ’N Out, the brand began sharing “best of” and “every single moment ever” compilations of other hit shows such as The Challenge and Catfish.
MTV also launched a new YouTube channel, MTV Vault, which houses videos from classic shows MTV Cribs, True Life, Silent Library, My Super Sweet 16, and others.
The social and digital team says that MTV Vault and its other breakout channels are an “ideal” testing ground to gauge how they can expand the reach of the brand’s most iconic IP and reformat it for other social platforms.
“YouTube is really at the core of the brand’s digital strategy, because we've invested in these breakout channels where audiences can lean into these IPs and we can get really meaningful data right away,” explains Rory Brown, svp and head of digital and social media for MTV, VH1, CMT, and Logo. “It's not just about getting mass subscribers for MTV, it's about understanding who these audiences are and what they want.”
Leaning on Live and Talent
While remixes and snippets of legacy content have proven popular, MTV has found ways to generate new content with traditional production shut down. For example, the brand launched several 24-hour livestream events across its YouTube channels to allow fans to interact with each other in real-time and discuss their favorite shows as part of ViacomCBS’ #AloneTogether initiative, which aims to promote a sense of unity through entertainment during this time of social distancing. These include music video playlists running on the MTV channel each weekend.
"With our primary YouTube originals production tabled indefinitely, we’ve had to be more nimble than usual."
MTV has also leaned on its talent over the last few weeks. On the brand’s flagship channel, comedian Justina Valentine is hosting her own weekly live show every Thursday. The Fresh Out Live series, where artists discuss their new music, is also still airing with singers Lauren Jauregui and Chloe x Halle chiming in from their homes. And fans can tune into a modern take on a classic property with MTV Unplugged at Home, which the brand launched last month to encourage music lovers to practice self-quarantine. The first installment featured an at-home performance from Wyclef Jean, and new episodes air on YouTube Tuesdays and Fridays.
“With our primary YouTube originals production tabled indefinitely, we’ve had to be more nimble than usual,” says Brown. “But, being in digital, having to pivot at the drop of a dime is something that we’re all used to. We go wherever our audiences are and we make sure we always continue to provide them with the content they want when they want it.”
