Viacom Digital Studios International (VDSI) — the global unit responsible for digital productions across Viacom’s myriad content brands including MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central — has inked a multi-territory partnership with Facebook Watch.
The deal calls for VDSI — which operates regional production hubs across the globe — to produce multiple short-form series for distribution on Facebook Watch in Europe (including the U.K., Germany, Spain, and France), Latin America, and Asia.
The content for the Americas and Asia is being created as part of Facebook Watch’s incubator program, which was announced in May and serves as a matchmaker of sorts between video publishers and influencers. In the U.K., however, forthcoming content will consist of digital spin-offs of linear hits on MTV UK, including Geordie Shore spin-offs Geordie More and Geordie OGs — both of which are dropping today — as well as JTOU: What Was I Inking? (premiering on Nov. 18), a spin-off of the TV series Just Tattoo Of Us, in which couples get controversial tattoos.
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“We are committed to reaching every audience, everywhere,” VDSI SVP Brendan Yam said in a statement. “By partnering with Facebook, we are harnessing the power of our globally recognized brands and IP and leveraging local talent and production capabilities to drive engagement with digital-first audiences around the globe.”
Other series include: More Love and More Lies (currently live), a UK spin-off of a couple competition series called True Love Or True Lies; Useless Life-Hacks, a mock series bowing in late December in Brazil; Portugal Realengo, a stand-up comedy series (also coming in December) in which the comic Rafael Portugal relives his hometown adventures in the Realengo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro; 5 In 5, in which Asian celebrities take on various challenges; and The Ride, in which Asian A-listers recount stories they’ve never told before.
