MTV So Irrelevant It’s Looking to Broadway for a Boost

This morning the Times takes on MTV’s fading relevance. Having fallen behind other brands in online music-video delivery, the network is playing catch-up with a bunch of technology initiatives, including about a dozen different ways of covering and televising this weekend’s Video Music Awards — a Flickr-style photo site, virtual performances by Peter, Bjorn & John, and viewer-curated reairings. The article’s a little short on details about what the network is doing once the VMAs are over to stay on the pop-culture map; currently, the only thing buzz-worthy about the network is The Hills, and the Times gets a fantastic quote from a network senior vice-president that virtually screams, “We don’t know what the hell to do next!� (“The key is being everywhere, but being everywhere in the way the audience wants.�)

That’s why it’s so great that the network is looking to the vibrant, cutting-edge world of Broadway to reverse its slide.

Michael Riedel reports that the network has struck a deal with Legally Blonde: The Musical to air a complete performance of the show next month. We’re not going to snark too much because we think that the show and the network are actually a nice fit, but if we were MTV, we’d be a little embarrassed to be so out to sea that grasping at the Broadway musical seems like a bold bid to connect with today’s youth.

MTV Aims to Return to Its Days of Glory [NYT]
I ‘Blonde’ My MTV [NYP]