• by Paul Gough , May 7, 2003

MTV Networks carried a high energy, star-studded message to the advertising community in its first-ever joint upfront Tuesday night: That message: buy us as a cross-channel network.

"We're asking you to think about us differently," said Tom Freston, chairman/CEO of the MTV Networks. He and other executives said that with broadcast CPM increases forecasted, now was the time to reevaluate media plans and put money toward MTV Networks as an alternative to pricey broadcast. "Broadcasters are surely going to be out there this year demanding double-digit increases," Freston said.

SVP/Research-Planning Betsy Frank said that today's viewers don't distinguish between broadcast and cable. "It's all TV," she said. And with the high involvement of MTV Network viewers and its neat brands, "moving dollars out of broadcast into MTV Networks becomes very reasonable."

Freston said that the units brands - MTV, MTV2, VH1, CMT, TV Land, Nick at Nite and the newly named Spike TV - offer an opportunity for ad buyers to reach uniquely focused channels that have high reach and strong connections to their audiences. He said the Viacom unit's strong brands have grown into a creative powerhouse marked by innovative, original programming. The networks deliver involved audiences from not only the networks' core 12-24 constituency but men and women from throughout 18-34s and 18-49s.

"It's what sets us apart from everyone else," said Freston, who was a character in a filmed Jackass parody that featured Viacom heads Sumner Redstone and Mel Karmazin wearing panda heads and MTV Network senior management in costume and hurling down Manhattan's Sixth Avenue in shopping carts.

The music and TV celebrities enlisted to help tell the story also set MTV's upfront apart, with three songs from Elton John and a high-powered set by Kid Rock and his band. Appearances by Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne, P. Diddy, actors John Leguizamo, Jeri Ryan, Pamela Anderson and Farrah Fawcett, and musicians Martina McBride and Jewel punctuated presentations by each of the channels.

Executives from COO Mark Rosenthal and Frank to Spike TV President Albie Hecht and Nick at Nite head Larry W. Jones sought to drive home the strength of MTV's brands. They showed MTV's continued primacy in youth demographics; a revival at VH1 that has led to a strong quarter and upscale 18-34 demos, strong ratings and a stepped-up distribution pace at CMT; a 20% increase in audience at Nick at Nite that has made it basic cable's #2 channel; TV Land's vault into the Top 10 among adults 25-54 and Nick Jr.'s strong demos reaching mothers.

Hecht unveiled the logo and a direction for TNN's successor, Spike TV, which will go live June 16 with a Thursday night animated programming block that will feature Gary the Rat from Kelsey Grammer, digitally-enhanced classic Ren and Stimpy and a Stan Lee project called Stripperella starring the former Baywatch actress.

Presenting Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau and Nielsen research about cable's share of the audience, EVP/Ad Sales Sue Danaher said that cable doesn't take a back seat among viewers anymore.

"Those days are over. The tipping point has arrived," Danaher said.

Or, as Comedy Central host John Stewart offered after the opening performance by the English pop legend in a not-ready-for-primetime remark:

"Hey, Elton John. So how about poneying up some (censored) money," Stewart said. "Elton John they gave you."