MTV & MLB Announce Multi-Year Partnership

By: Nov. 11, 2013
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

MTV and Major League Baseball (MLB) today announced a multi-year, cross-platform programming partnership that will bring fans inside the intersection of pop culture and baseball as their favorite MLB athletes and celebrities are featured across MTV's platforms. To lead things off, Boston Red Sox DH and 2013 World Series MVP David Ortiz and Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star Centerfielder Andrew McCutchen will executive produce a new weekly, 30-episode series on MTV2, MTV's sibling network that targets men with smart, funny and relevant content, that is slated to debut in April 2014. Shot in New York City from inside the MLB Fan Cave, MLB's first-of-its-kind space that mixes baseball with music, pop culture, media, interactive technology and art, the new series will move beyond game analysis, stats and highlights to showcase MLB athletes off the field, spotlighting the stars' personalities and passions through a series of player interviews and features, in addition to celebrity appearances.

"The MLB Fan Cave has been an enormous success in showcasing the personalities of our star players to young fans and intersecting baseball with pop culture," said Tim Brosnan, Executive Vice President, Business, Major League Baseball. "Being able to partner with MTV on a weekly TV series will give us an opportunity to bring that concept to an even broader audience. We are excited to work with the creative team at MTV to develop content that our fans will enjoy."

"As sports and pop culture increasingly collide, we're thrilled to partner with MLB to cover baseball through a uniquely MTV lens," said Stephen Friedman, President of MTV. "We will blur the lines between lifestyle and sports entertainment, spotlighting MLB's most exciting players in a way fans have never seen before."

"Music is a passion of mine so when I was asked to be involved in a show that brings baseball to MTV, I jumped at it," said Andrew McCutchen. "It is going to be a lot of fun to show a different side of baseball and the players."

David Ortiz added, "Players want to be musicians and the musicians want to be players. So it's going to be pretty easy to get my friends in baseball to have some fun on MTV."

Content from the new partnership will live on-air and online across MTV's channels and platforms - MTV, MTV2, mtvU, MTV Hits and MTV Jams - integrating MLB players into existing shows and events, in addition to the development of upcoming specials, weekend programming and more.

Details on additional elements of the MLB and MTV partnership will be announced at a later date. For more information, please visit MLB.com, MTV.com

About MLB Fan Cave:
Created in 2011, the MLB Fan Cave is a unique event space mixing baseball with music, popular culture, media, technology and art. In addition to providing a growing audience of more than 2.5 million highly engaged followers with a constant flow of online video and conversation via social media, the MLB Fan Cave is also home to "Cave Dwellers," fans who earn the opportunity to serve as social media ambassadors for baseball while watching all 2,430 games inside the Fan Cave and interacting with the MLB players and celebrities who visit. Supported by MLB Advanced Media, the MLB Fan Cave in 2013 created digital video content with more than 100 MLB stars while launching a successful art gallery in addition to its thriving concert series. More than 40,000 fans have applied to be Cave Dwellers since its inception.

About MTV:
MTV is the world's premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy, Grammy and Peabody award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV's sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online HUB MTV.com is a leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

About MTV2:
Available in more than 80 million homes, MTV2 is man's best friend. Since its launch in 1996, the network has reflected the subversive interests and behaviors of young men with a compelling and diverse programming line-up inspired by ordinary guys who do extraordinary things. MTV2 is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.



Comments

To post a comment, you must register and login.

Vote Sponsor


Videos