MTV promises more "fan-generated" content

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27 June 2008 9:56 GMT / By Katie Scott

MTV is trying to get its fans more involved.

The music channel has launched FNMTV, which shows new music videos every Friday night.

Viewers are then invited to go online to comment on them as well as upload their own reinterpretations.

FNMTV is the first MTV show to employ user-generated video as part of its format.

And there's more to come as MTV plans to integrate viewer-generated content into upcoming programs including G's to Gents, America's Best Dance Crew Season 2, and Paris Hilton's My New BFF.

This is part of a wider bid by MTV to compete against the likes of YouTube and MySpace.

According to Web tracker comScore, the US online audience for MySpace totaled 73.7 million visitors, while 66.2 million visited YouTube and 17.1 million viewed MTV's websites.

"There was a time when the music video itself is what happened in culture, but now it's the music video and what everyone has to say about it that is what's happening", Brian Graden, president of MTV programming, told Reuters.

"MTV is not above serving many fads, but in this case it's a generational and fundamental shift to technology", he concluded.