MTV's Spiritual Windows

April 11, 2005

MTV’s Spiritual Windows

MTV never slows down, until now. Shows are action-packed, music videos move with dizzying speed, and commercials are short and sweet. All this activity can knock the wind right out of you, but now viewers get an occasional break. Introducing “Spiritual Windows,” brief MTV promo clips featuring spiritual messages and calming religious scenes at a slightly slower pace.

These “Windows” contain simple messages that assure viewers of one peculiar thing: MTV can meet their spiritual needs. One shows Muslim men bowing in prayer with Eastern-type music playing in the background and the words "Rejuvenate: MTV." Another clip shows gondoliers rowing in the canals of Venice, Italy, while a Latin-sounding man's voice says, "Your heart is where your treasure is, and you must find your treasure in order to make sense of everything.” The words "Everyday grace: MTV” then appear.

"We wanted to create little, short moments, almost breaths of peace, for the channel," Kevin Mackall, senior vice president of on-air promotions for MTV, explained. "There's a genuine appetite for spirituality these days. And that was the mission."

After polling a group of 18-29 year-old viewers during the 2004 presidential election, MTV found that 53% of them consider religion “extremely important” to the their daily lives. 31% consider religion as “somewhat important” and only 14% said it was “not important to them at all.” Nearly one forth of MTV’s audience consider themselves “born again.” These findings led to the creation of 24 “Spiritual Windows,” which began airing last January.

Even though one clip quotes scripture, missing from all the "Spiritual Windows" are Judeo-Christian images. Producers had footage of a Catholic nun inside a church, but ended up cutting it.

MTV stops at no length to capture the attention of young people. Whether it’s fast paced programming, unashamed sexual encounters, or religious topics, MTV does whatever it takes to keep teens coming back. And, unfortunately, it works

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