SINGAPORE – Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a division of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), today announced a partnership with Facebook to launch an upcoming slate of eight original shortform series created for Facebook Watch. The announcement was made at All That Matters 2019 in Singapore. The series will be created by MTV Asia as part of the publisher and creator video incubation program for Facebook Watch. With genres ranging across music entertainment, pro-social and reality, the series will feature popular social influencers in Asia. Four shows will premiere later this year while the remaining four will be developed in 2020.
Paras Sharma, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Southeast Asia, VIMN, said, “Creating original content is a key focus for us in Asia. We have a diverse portfolio of original content – from hip hop show YO! MTV Raps and the Comedy Central Stand-Up, Asia! series, to Nickelodeon shorts and esports branded content – that lives on our linear and digital platforms. Working with Facebook further amplifies the content creation opportunity as with this partnership, there is the potential to bring the power of MTV’s original ideas and storytelling to new audiences whenever and wherever they are consuming content.”
Saurabh Doshi, Director of Entertainment Partnerships Facebook Asia Pacific, “We are proud to partner with Viacom International Media Networks to bring the best of Asia’s creator content to Facebook through new show formats that will engage their community and inspire conversations. On Facebook Watch, publishers and creators connect with people in meaningful ways. We are excited to bring this to life with MTV Asia.”
Each series will comprise eight episodes, with each episode running up to eight minutes. Additional programming and talent partnerships will be announced soon. This collaboration is driven by VIMN’s digital studios arm, Viacom Digital Studios International (VDSI), which focuses on creating and distributing digital content for VIMN’s flagship brands outside of the U.S.
With a strong global footprint, VDSI’s collaboration with Facebook taps on our production hubs around the world. In October 2018, MTV Studios and Facebook Watch announced a partnership to produce MTV’s The Real World in Thailand, Mexico and the United States. MTV The Real World: Bangkok premiered exclusively on Facebook Watch from June 13.
ABOUT VIACOM INTERNATIONAL MEDIA NETWORKS
Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), is comprised of many of the world’s most popular multimedia entertainment brands, including MTV, MTV LIVE HD, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Comedy Central, Paramount Channel, BET and more. Viacom brands reach more than 3.8 billion cumulative subscribers in 180+ countries and territories via more than 200 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 550 digital media and mobile TV properties, in 40 languages. Keep up with VIMN news by visiting the VIMN PR Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/VIMN_PR. For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com, blog.viacom.com and the Viacom Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/Viacom.
ABOUT MTV
MTV is the leading youth media brand inspired by music, in nearly 180 countries and 450 million homes around the world, connecting with over 350 million fans across all social media platforms. A unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), MTV operations span cable and mobile networks, live events, theatrical films and new MTV Studios unit which produces new and reimagined content for SVOD and Linear platforms based on MTV’s library of over 200+ youth titles and franchises. For more information about MTV in Asia, visit www.mtvasia.com.
ABOUT FACEBOOK WATCH
Facebook Watch is a place to discover and enjoy video on Facebook. Home to a wide range of video – from scripted comedy and drama, to competition and reality series, to individual creators and live sports – Facebook Watch is a destination where content, community and conversation come together. This is a personalized viewing experience, where you can discover new content based on what your friends are watching, and catch up on the shows you follow.
