MTV Launches FANTASY ELECTION '12 Game

MTV today announced from the Republican National Convention the launch of "Fantasy Election '12." The signature element of MTV's "Power of 12" campaign, users can sign up and begin forming leagues today. The game gives young people a new way to hold candidates accountable and rewards them for getting involved in the 2012 elections. Similar to Fantasy Football, "Fantasy Election '12" enables users to draft a team of candidates pursuing the presidency or congress, earning and losing points based on how their players behave in the real world. Players can also earn bonus points for getting informed on political issues, by engaging and participating in the electoral process and by testing their political knowledge.

Prizes

Thousands of people will win prizes for playing "Fantasy Election '12," with the first daily prizes set to be given away next week. One grand prize winner will win a "Fantasy VMA Weekend" that includes a trip for the winner and three friends to attend the 2013 MTV "Video Music Awards," along with $25,000 cash. Other top prizes include $10,000 cash, big screen TVs, home theatre systems, Lenovo IdeaPad Ultrabook laptops, and more. MTV will give away over 3,000 total prizes between next week and the Election, with dozens of people winning iTunes gift cards, discounts to Amazon.com, exclusive MTV content and other prizes on a daily basis.

New Partners

Both Kia and Lenovo have made significant contributions to help amplify MTV's "Power of 12" campaign and "Fantasy Election '12," and each will help bring MTV's election campaign to life on-air on MTV. Additionally, Lenovo will sponsor weekly challenges and give-aways on "Fantasy Election '12." Lenovo will also sponsor a sweepstakes supporting MTV's "Power Pics," encouraging young people to post images demonstrating how they are flexing their political power in the 2012 election. During a 3 week period beginning September 12, 2012, 12 photos will be chosen to be featured on MTV in an on-air "Power of 12" spot.

Today MTV also announced that POLITICO and BuzzFeed are joining the world-class coalition of philanthropic, technology and political accountability partners teaming up with the network on "Fantasy Election '12." From now until November 6th, every piece of content on POLITICO.com and BuzzFeed.com/Politics will feature an "MTV Fantasy Election '12" button, and players who read or watch stories on either site will earn bonus points for getting informed on the election.

How it Works

Scoring in "MTV Fantasy Election '12" is based on two things: how candidates behave and what players of the game do. Candidate performance is determined by objective data, provided by a range of non-partisan organizations, in five key areas: constituent engagement, honesty, transparency, civility, and public opinion.

· Constituent Engagement: Candidates will gain points for town halls, tele-town halls, press availabilities, and other key ways they make themselves available to answer the questions of American voters. PBS NewsHour will provide information on Presidential candidates and CQ Roll Call will supply details on congressional candidates. MTV will also award points to candidates for engaging constituents via Facebook, Twitter and foursquare.

· Honesty: As candidates make statements on the campaign trail, players will gain/lose points based on their team's truthfulness. This will be gauged by the Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking organization PolitiFact.

· Transparency: MTV will give bonus points to candidates who openly disclose campaign funding sources as monitored by the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org, and dock points from candidates who aren't transparent about that information. MTV will also reward candidates who complete Project Vote Smart's acclaimed "Political Courage Test," making their positions known on the issues of greatest importance to American voters.

· Civility: MTV will reward candidates for focusing on issues instead of personal attacks in campaign advertising. MTV will deduct points from candidates who air an excessive amount of uncivil, personal ads. Scores will be based on the Wesleyan Media Project's definitive advertising database which provides real-time, publicly available information on the content and targeting of all broadcast television advertisements aired by or on behalf of all federal election candidates in each of the nation's 210 media markets. Based on data provided by FlackCheck.org - the sister site of award-winning FactCheck.org and housed at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania - MTV will also deduct points from candidates who exhibit uncivil behavior (demeaning language, extreme characterizations, language of violence, etc.) on the campaign trail or in political ads.

· Public Opinion: Candidates who do a good job of connecting with voters and see their polling numbers rise will earn points in the game, while politicians who see their polling numbers drop will be docked points. This will be tracked via data from RealClearPolitics, the definitive polling data aggregator.

Bonus Points

In addition to earning bonus points by reading news articles on POLITICO and BuzzFeed Politics, beginning today young people who "check-in" on their mobile devices to in-person town hall events or on-air political debates via foursquare and GetGlue will gain extra points. Players can also earn bonus points by signing up for an Election day reminder from Rock the Vote, and points can be gained by sharing the game and getting friends involved, or by participating in a series of daily challenges that include questions from MTV's "Rapper or Republican" and "Democrat or Diva" series.

League Logistics

To create a league, players will need between five to 12 participants. From there, each player will build a "dream team" of candidates by either hand-selecting politicians, or choosing the "pre-ranked" option. Players can begin creating leagues today and continue to do so until October 20, 2012. Candidate drafts happen automatically on Saturday of each week, and the first round of official game play will kick-off on Monday, September 10th, 2012. Each week, players can add, drop or trade candidates based on performance.

"Fantasy Election '12" was developed by HYFN, a renowned digital agency who has created social experiences for some of the most recognized brands in the world including Nike, Coke, Disney, Universal and more. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is the principal funder of the game, providing a $250,000 grant.

Building on MTV's nearly 20-year Emmy and Peabody Award-winning political legacy with "Choose or Lose," MTV's "Power of 12" campaign is built specifically to reflect the Millennial generation and changes in the economic and political climate, and is designed to empower them to have a major impact on Election Day and beyond. 45 million 18-29 year olds will be eligible to vote in the 2012 election, representing the largest potential voting bloc in the country.

For information on MTV's "Power of 12" campaign please visit www.Powerof12.org. For information on "Fantasy Election '12" or to form a league now, go to FantasyElection.MTV.com.

About MTV:

MTV is the world's premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy(R), Grammy(R) and Peabody(R) award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV's sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is a leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.