Viacom Joins Twitter Amplify To Bring TV Video Clips

We've heard talk about a possible Viacom partnership with Twitter before, bringing with it social TV show clips. Such rumors became official today with an announcement by Viacom that it has joined Twitter's Amplify program. To kick things off, Viacom will be launching with the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, and will move on from there to provide content from a variety of stations.

Viacom networks that will be provided as part of the partnership include MTV, VH1, CMT, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, TV Land, and Spike, among others. As we mentioned, the entire thing will be launched with the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, during which real-time video highlights from the show will be made available on Twitter.

Such content, in that particular case, will include backstage clips, interviews, as well as highlights of notable parts of the performance – presumably, the kind of things you'd search out on YouTube after the performance, making this a far more immediate kind of access. The video clips will be supported by sponsors.

The clips will begin appearing on Twitter on August 25, followed by snippets from shows on other Viacom networks. Twitter praised this move, saying that by joining Twitter Amplify, Viacom will be able to tie the social reality of the Internet with its video content, merging them together "across all devices."

Viacom's Head of Sales, Music and Entertainment Jeff Lucas said: "The VMAs virtually pioneered the social TV moment, triggering a demand among marketers to tap into the fan conversations and trending topics that Vicom networks create every day. Through this partnership, we're allowing marketers to insert their brands seamlessly into the torrent of fan activity and engagement around out networks on Twitter."

SOURCE: Viacom