MTV Tops 100 Million Homes in Europe

MTV, the round-the-clock music television channel owned by Viacom Inc., said it has topped 100 million homes in Europe. MTV, which celebrates its 20th birthday this year, said it had doubled its European distribution to about 100.2 million homes over the last four years, with a strategy of launching regional channels that cater to the tastes of individual countries.

Europe, MTV’s first stop when it went overseas in 1987, is the most profitable of the network’s overseas regions, generating the biggest revenue. However, Asia also is showing solid growth, with nearly 130 million homes. MTV Networks, which includes sister channel VH1 as well as MTV, accounts for almost 20% of Viacom’s total revenue and aims to draw around half its revenue and profit from outside the United States by 2006.