Viacom Digital Studios International to produce short-form content for Facebook Watch
- Tuesday, October 29th, 2019
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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 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.
“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,” said Jo Wells, VP, digital content at MTV International. “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 ‘Geordie More’ and ‘’Geordie OGs: The After Show’ (working title), in which Geordie Shore cast members will be joined by special guests, friends and family, as they review the most recent episode of both series.
‘JTOU: What Was I Inking?’ (working title) 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.
And ‘Teen Mom UK: Mom’s The Word’ will feature the Teen Moms as they engage in frank, honest and entertaining discussions about the events in the most recent episode.
LatAm shows include ‘Portugal Realengo’, a stand-up comedy series featuring Rafael Portugal reliving his adventures in his hometown of Realengo. And ‘Only Joking’, in which 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 shows include ‘5 in 5’, in which MTV gets celebs to do things they have always wanted to (or never wanted to!). ‘The Ride’ gives Asia’s A-list performers a direct link to fans to tell their story like I has not been told before. And ‘Generation Change’ is an inspirational micro-documentary series that crafts powerful stories around young, impassioned changemakers in Southeast Asia.
Today’s 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.