Smartclip grabs the European sales business for PlayStation's VidZone

by Sara Kimberley, mediaweek.co.uk 27-Oct-09, 10:50

Sony PlayStation's on-demand music video service, VidZone, has appointed video ad network Smartclip to handle its European sales, edging out incumbent Unanimis following a pitch.

Nokia, EA and McDonald's have signed up to advertise on the service.

Smartclip will be responsible for handling pre and post-roll video inventory across Europe.

Sam Kayum, managing director of Smartclip, said he anticipates a doub-ling of video views when VidZone becomes available on the PS3 menu and via Sony Bravia TV sets.

VidZone, a free service launched in June to rival Spotify, MP3.com and We7, is available on the PS3 and PSP across the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Australia.

Offering 15,000 music videos from 4,000 artists including Kings of Leon, Britney Spears and Nirvana, VidZone claims more than 500,000 UK users have downloaded it, attracting 100 million views globally to date.

In April, OMD won the £67m media account for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe across 11 countries worldwide, with its £8.5m UK media brief retained by MG OMD.

OMD also handles media in Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria and Benelux, as well as Australia and New Zealand.