Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs’ cable channel Revolt TV to link advertisers with music stars
Cannes Lions 2013: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs cable channel Revolt TV will be “co-partnering with advertisers…to help them connect with [music artists]”, he announced at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
The new music channel, which is launching in October, will give brands access to music talent and help them to develop relationships with industry experts that they wouldn’t normally be able to access, he said.
The rap star added at a Cannes press conference that he wanted those partnership deals for the channel, which is aimed at teenagers, to be authentic. He said: “It would be almost not right to get in a partnership with somebody when we know we can’t deliver the audience; the message isn’t going to resonate with our audience [of millennials]. Combs added that the team behind Revolt TV is keen to prove that the channel can provide advertisers with a “return”.
The Comcast channel, which did a deal with Combs to distribute his own network, will be the “ESPN of music…covering music like a journalist… creating a destination for music,” according to the rap star. He added that a gap in the market has been created for Revolt TV because “MTV stopped playing music”.
Combs added at the press conference: “One thing I want to be transparent about is that this is the first time that I’m doing this, I’m learning something new every day. But one thing I do know [about] is how… to really connect to young people – I know how to get them engaged and I know how to build brands.”
Diddy runs a number of successful global brands, including fashion labels, perfumes and Diageo-owned vodka brand Ciroc, where he holds the position of chief marketing officer.
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