MTV81 to Promote Japanese Pop Culture Online

TOKYO– MTV81, an online portal showcasing Japanese pop culture to the international community in English, has been launched by Viacom International Media.

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“There’s a hike in demand for Asian content because of young audiences becoming more familiar with it through the internet,” Ji Hee Nam, vp of digital for Viacom International Media Networks Asia, told The Hollywood Reporter.

The site will be ad and sponsor-supported, with Viacom teaming up with Japanese advertising giant Dentsu, a long business partner, for the venture, according to Nam.

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The content will target 18-to-34-year-olds worldwide, and try to leverage MTV Japan’s connection to music, fashion and pop culture, while focusing on what is shaping the pop culture landscape in Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and other cities, according to Viacom.

There are currently no plans for direct tie-ups with the Japanese-language MTV Japan channel, which targets domestic audiences.

MTV81, which references the “81” international dialing code for Japan, promises a broad scope of coverage of pop culture from, “music writers, bloggers, label executives and editors.”

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