• Mediaweek, Wednesday, July 15, 2009 9:45 PM

NBC Universal's Oxygen is launching a new music initiative designed to introduce the network's young female demo to emerging artists. Last night was the debut of "Sounds Like Oxygen," a multiplatform campaign featuring on-air vignettes and a standalone microsite.

"Delivering a curated music experience that allows viewers to discover new artists fits perfectly with our strategy to reimagine Oxygen as a multiplatform lifestyle brand," says Jason Klarman, Oxygen's gm. A series of 30-second on-air plugs offer viewers a glimpse at each artist's current videos and then directs them to the microsite. The site features full-length music videos, photo galleries, bios and interactive quizzes. Each month, a new batch of artists will be added to the mix.

Since its acquisition by NBCU in October 2007, Oxygen has attracted a younger, hipper female audience. In the second quarter, the network grew its prime-time ratings among women 18-34 by 54%. The influx of younger viewers has given a welcome boost to ad revenue. Oxygen took in $152.6 million in gross ad sales last year, a 16% improvement from its 2007 haul, per SNL Kagan.

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