• June 14, 2001

Universal Music Group (UMG), and DIVA, a video-on-demand (VOD) provider to the cable industry, have agreed to develop and deliver a new category of music video programming for digital cable subscribers. "The Viewing Lounge" (TVL), UMG's customizable music application, will give cable viewers the opportunity to create custom blocks of music video programming based on their favorite genres of music.

The joint effort between UMG and DIVA lays the groundwork for the introduction of a music video on-demand service. Users will be able to view and navigate a music video catalog of hundreds of artists across a wide variety of music genres. Viewers will also be able to upgrade to a subscription service that will allow consumers to build their own custom playlists.

DIVA's technology supports UMG's tiered revenue model for affiliates, which will include targeted advertising and sponsorship capabilities, e-commerce transactions and offers a seamless path to a music video-on-demand subscription service. The TVL music service will add an additional revenue source for cable operators on DIVA's solutions, accelerating the rate of their return against their upgrade investments. DIVA offers a full motion video interface for users, which provides a full television experience to Universal's music programming as well as other movie content available through its VOD platform.

- Adam Bernard