The Financial Times reports that MTV has officially made its first big move into social networking, the area dominated by News Corp.'s MySpace. Today, the Viacom company unveiled MTV Flux, a
television channel devoted to user-generated content. The service borrows from ideas tested on Web sites in Japan and Italy; it will launch initially in the UK, but will be "monitored very closely" to
determine whether it could be successful in other countries. Flux allows people to exchange messages and video clips by computer and mobile phone. It also shows content like music videos chosen by its
audience, who display their own videos and messages alongside. Clearly, MTV's core audience is eroding, thanks to MySpace, YouTube Google Video and other hangouts on the Web. As young media consumers
spend more time on the Web, the company realizes it needs more interactive/community features. MTV executives are touting Flux as the first channel that lets users upload their content in a television
format. But does that generation really care about television? They'd probably rather have their video passed around YouTube.
Read the whole story at Financial Times »
