MTV in Cambodia 3G, Japan ads

NEW YORK -- Viacom's MTV Networks Asia is partnering with Shockwave in Japan to develop new advertising models and has licensed its first mobile content in Cambodia to telecom Cadcomms.

MTV said Thursday that Phnom Penh-based Cambodia Advance Communications will begin offering MTV and Nickelodeon content to its 3G platform subscribers on March 15 under the brand qb.

Video content will be provided to mobile subscribers via mobile television and video-on-demand formats.

"The MTV brand and its position in the local market is very strong and it fits very well with our brand and strategy in targeting the young and music inspired segment of the market," CADCOMMS CEO Morten Eriksen said in a statement released jointly with Robert Kim, MTV Networks Asia's senior director for digital media and video broadcast services.

Subscribers will be able to choose from such content as MTV's "Pimp My Ride" and Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "Dora the Explorer."

The service will kick off with a qb goes LIVE concert featuring Stacie Orrico and local artists from the Olympic Stadium in the capital.

In Japan, MTV Networks Japan K.K., entered into a strategic partnership with Shockwave Entertainment to create a new advertising business model that will add value to Japanese advertisers and consumers, the Viacom unit said in a statement issued from Tokyo.

Shockwave, one of the largest Japanese entertainment Web sites for casual gamers and animation fans, and MTVJapan.com will collaborate to widen their reach in a partnership that will try to encourage the transfer of existing members of one Web site to the other, increasing the audience pool for advertisers, the companies said.

The partnership also will develop "advergames," free online games used for advertising. By integrating brand logos and services into games, advertisers hope to increase brand exposure.

"This alliance will blend our brand power with Shockwave's compelling entertainment destinations, further strengthening our ability to offer advertisers innovative and unique solutions," MTV Networks Japan K.K. Peter Bulllard said.

MTV and Shockwave also plan to provide multiplatform advertising solutions that encompass cable TV and satellite broadcasts in addition to online properties.