Viacom Digital Studios International (VDSI), the international arm of Viacom’s digital studio production business, has announced a multi-territory partnership with Facebook to produce a slate of original short-form content for Facebook Watch audiences in the Europe, Americas and Asia.

VDSI’s collaboration with Facebook taps into Viacom’s strong global footprint, utilising its regional production hubs to create original, locally relevant premium digital programming for young, mobile audiences around the world.

In the UK, MTV has partnered with VDSI to produce 75 x 10-minute pieces of digital short form content, which will be spin-offs of six successful MTV UK linear series. The UK content will also be localized into local language in Germany, France and Spain.

Jo Wells, VP, Digital Content, MTV International commented “This is a really exciting partnership which will enable MTV fans to gain a completely new perspective on our most popular shows, exclusively on Facebook Watch. The partnership extends both how we distribute short-form content and also – at 10 minutes per episode – its typical length, feeding a growing audience appetite for mid-form content.”

UK productions include:

• More Love and More Lies – Liv and Louis (series one winners) look back at the highlights of each episode and analyse who might be lying. The show will feature couples from series two, behind-the-scenes content and games. Each episode will also feature exclusives from Dani Dyer and the best bits of Danny Dyer’s voiceover.
• Geordie More and Geordie OGs: The After show (working title) – in these two series, Geordie Shore cast members will be joined by special guests, plus friends and family, as they review the most recent episode of both series, highlighting the funniest moments and revealing exclusive previews from upcoming episodes.
• JTOU: What Was I Inking? (working title) – this series will follow couples who have appeared on Just Tattoo of Us to find out what happened when they showed their controversial inking to parents/co-workers/friends and loved ones.
• Celebrity Ex On The Beach: The After Party – this studio after-party series will include reactions to all the best bits from each night’s episode. The series will feature key cast members, their friends and super fans, with a host of revelations and behind-the-scenes gossip.
• Teen Mom UK: Mom’s The Word: this weekly studio show features the Teen Moms as they engage in frank, honest and entertaining discussions about the events in the most recent episode. The series offers a light hearted, yet informative look at young motherhood in the UK today.

The partnership follows on from a previous MTV UK and Facebook Watch partnership in 2018, where interactive quiz gameshow, MTV Stax, allowed players to win cash in real time.

LatAm

Launching late December in Brazil, VDSI will produce the series below. Each series will consist of eight episodes that range from four to eight minutes each. Titles are as follows:

• Useless Life-Hacks: The series will mock life hacks that bring solutions to problems we never knew existed in the first place.
• Na Quebrada: A game show inspired format that approaches the “Brazilian ghetto universe,” hosted by comedian Thiago Ventura.

Also in Americas, Viacom-owned Brazilian comedy production company, Porta do Fundos, will produce the following series for Facebook Watch:

• Portugal Realengo:  A stand-up comedy series using vlogger format featuring Rafael Portugal reliving his adventures in his hometown of Realengo.
• Only Joking: Fabio Porchat, owner and co-founder of Porta Dos Fundos sits with his pals to talk about the backstory of comedy: why they decided to be comedians, how did they start their careers and their web channel and what it takes to be a comedian in this day in age.

Asia

Announced in September during the All That Matters 2019 conference in Singapore, VDSI will partner with MTV Asia to produce a series of titles featuring popular social influencers in Asia. Four of the series will premiere later this year, while the remaining four will be developed in 2020. Each series will consist of eight episodes, spanning four to eight minutes each. The first four series are as follows:

• 5 in 5: MTV lines up some of the most interesting, popular celebrities out there and gets them to do things they have always wanted to (or never wanted to). Through this snappy, studio-based format, fans get to see a side to their favs that they never knew they needed to!
• The Ride: There’s nothing more powerful than an artist speaking their truth. The Ride gives Asia’s A-list performers a direct link to fans to tell their story like no one’s ever heard before.
• Positive Inking: This series features young people who have experienced meaningful things in their lives – overcoming obstacles, breaking down barriers, navigating tragedy or simply very memorable experiences — that have culminated in their desire to get inked to commemorate it. They share their stories with the host and explore the diverse styles and genres of Thailand’s vibrant tattoo culture.
• Generation Change: An inspirational micro-doc series that crafts powerful stories around young, impassioned changemakers in Southeast Asia.

The news follows an announcement in October 2018 that MTV Studios and Facebook Watch would partner to produce MTV’s The Real World in Thailand, Mexico and the US. The series premiered in June 2019 with collective series views in the millions.

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