MTV unveils new strategy to attract teens

In a new direction, MTV says it’s aiming to become a multitasking hub for teens with an emphasis on user-created content. “We can either stay in the mass business,” said MTV group president Brian Graden, “or we can be in the hyper-specialty business where the shows may not have broad appeal but in the Digital Age would better engage our viewers.” TRL will get a complete overhaul this summer with user participation, and “a good number of the videos in rotation” will have the viewers’ thumbprints on them (but he doesn’t reveal how). “It’s all kind of radical,” he says.