• by Wayne Friedman , August 26, 2009

MTV Networks will now try its luck with made-for-TV movies, hoping to rev up its ratings performances.

Tony DiSanto, president of MTV programming, said in a release: "Storytelling is in our DNA, and feature films for television are the next natural step of progression for us." MTV's initial films will include the themes of dance, horror and comedy.

The network's goal is to launch one movie each quarter. Currently, it has two in production: "My Super Psycho Sweet 16" and "Turn The Beat Around." It also has several in development, including "Made."

"Psycho" is a horror film about a killer who returns after decades to a site where a sweet sixteen party is held. "Turn The Beat Around" focuses on a struggling young dancer who convinces a wealthy club owner to open a modern disco. "Made" comes from the MTV comedy series, about an A-list cheerleader who helps a D-list band nerd achieve her dream of making the squad.

In the second quarter, MTV was down 12% to an average 468,000 viewers in total day viewing, and down 5% to 302,000 among 18-49 viewers -- off 13% to 142,000 among women 18-34 viewers.

MTV still says it is the No. 1-rated full-day ad-supported cable network for viewers 12-24. Online, it says MTV.com averaged 21.7 million monthly unique visitors during the first quarter of 2009, up 7% from the fourth quarter of 2008.