MTVN Makes 2-Year $500 Million Gaming Commitment

MTV Networks on Thursday pledged to spend more than $500 million on gaming properties worldwide over the next two years. That includes the $100 million Nickelodeon committed last month to the development, distribution and creation of casual gaming titles, sites and platforms.

The Viacom company's attention to gaming is broad. "Whether hardcore or casual, online or console-based, we know that games are a dominant activity across all our audiences," said Mika Salmi, president, MTVN Global Digital Media.

Salmi previously oversaw Atom Entertainment's gaming site Shockwave.com, before MTV parent Viacom bought Atom last year for $200 million.

MTVN's gaming properties--including Nickarcade.com, Neopets, Shockwave and AddictingGames--did particularly well in June and July amid strong traffic growth. Its various gaming properties attracted more than 42 million unique visitors globally in June--up 20% in the first six months of this year, according to comScore Media Metrix.

Of note, the young adult-targeted AddictingGames site attracted 9.2 million unique visitors domestically in July and 14.7 million globally. Meanwhile, promotion site GameTrailers brought in 1.4 million unique visitors domestically and 4.7 million globally.

In casual games, MTVN extends across CMT.com, ComedyCentral.com, MTV.com, Nick.com and other sites. Casual games--which generally require little investment of time--have emerged as a favorite pastime for middle-aged women. As a result, the games have proven to be a boon for portals like Yahoo and MSN, while console makers like Nintendo are exploring the market to reach a truly mass-audience.

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