Mtv Reaches Out To Audience Via Research: Shows Reflect Results

LOS ANGELES‹Though the MTV/Youth Intelligence Music Trendsetters Study (MTS) has been in network executives' hands for only a couple of weeks, MTV's forthcoming programming and a number of shows in development have presciently anticipated some of the new research's most pertinent findings.
MTV executive VP of programming Brian Graden says, "We've been doing research for a while, and a lot of these themes are not completely new to me. They're sort of continuations‹or I should say embellished extensions‹of stuff we've already known."
He adds, "There are a few ideas that are out there working and a couple that are actually happening in the next couple of months and some beyond that, and I say, 'Ah, I feel even better about our decision to go down that path, because it works against the backdrop or the framework of this research.' "
MTV president Judy McGrath sees a couple of series that will premiere soon on the network as a reflection of the MTS respondents' desire for a deeper understanding of their music.
"When you have a show like 'Revue' or 'The Cut' . . . you're sort of playing into that desire [that] this stuff is worth knowing more about or digging into deeper," McGrath says. "[We say to the audience,] 'You keep telling us you're interested in diverse and different kinds of music.' Now it's up to us to step up and provide it."
"The Cut," a daily program that premieres Sept. 28, is a talent competition (inspired by an underground talent club showcase in L.A.) that will reward the winner with a video that will appear in rotation on MTV.
MTV GM Van Toffler views the series‹which will run elimination rounds over a 10-week period, climaxing with a grand-prize round‹as a reflection of what the trendsetters were asking for in programming.
" 'The Cut' shows people that are very reflective of the audience, trying to make it and show their talents in a very individual way," Toffler says.
"Revue," a Wednesday-night show premiering Oct. 14, will feature musicians performing their material and offering intimate, personal narratives. Tori Amos and Ozzy Osbourne are already set to appear.
"It's certainly not 'Storytellers'‹there's a different kind of vibe," Graden says. "It's a really powerful show, and it's really sort of different. It's not a loud, screaming idea‹it's a sort of esoteric, artistic, almost highbrow idea. Given the research we're seeing in the trendsetters study, I believe people want to see that level of meaning and interpretation."
Some programs in development reflect the MTS participants' desire for greater interactivity and individualization.
"We're [working on] this giant thing called 'Web Riot,' " Graden says. "We're starting it as a four-hour stunt, where 25,000 kids in America can log onto their computer, watch MTV at the same time, and answer real-time questions about music. They get to participate, and whoever knows the most about music from everybody playing in the nation will win $50,000 or something . . . It certainly breaks new ground in television, because it's never been done, where you can watch TV but answer on your computer at the same time. I think that represents the future too in terms of individuality‹a chance to participate."
Another developmental project, "Deja View," will reveal the deepest roots of contemporary music and address the craving for a greater understanding of the form heard in the MTS, according to Graden.
"This was a very simple idea," he says, "but we started seeing that if you make the connections for the audience between a song that they love now and music that maybe inspired it or was sampled, it gives props to the history and the depth that goes into the songs. It's a great way to sort of break down the art form. It's something I don't think we would have tried a couple of years back."
One prospective MTV host could be the person to add the spiritual dimension sought by the study's "pessimystics" to the network's future programming.
"Deepak Chopra's son has been here for meetings about hosting his own show, and he's really on the spirituality tip," Graden says. "We wouldn't say, 'Let's go find somebody who's spiritual,' but he came through the door, and we recognized [that] what he has to say is something our audience might want to hear right now.
"We don't have a deal. We're not doing anything yet. It's just the kind of thing that comes through the door and you say, 'Hey!' "
Graden also views recent programming innovations, such as the informational bumpers packaged with Buzz Clips and Breakthrough Videos and "Video Histories," as other manifestations of the MTS directives.
"It's tied up with the research‹they want information, so we're trying to find more ways to give it to them," he says.
Looking at both the immediate future of MTV and the long-term development of the network, Toffler says that the impact of the MTS will "be pervasive in the programming, the promotion, and the marketing of MTV. You give artists a voice directly to the viewer, and you create shows like 'Artist's Cut' and interview bites about influences on artists and longform shows like 'Revue,' where it's very revealing about the artist and the genesis of songs and their life and their influences. [It extends to] things we do on our online site."