MTV honors Prince, announces podcasts and ‘Cribs’ returning via Snapchat at upfront
Anyone above the Snapchat generation usually says the same thing whenever they meet someone who works at MTV or talks about the iconic TV brand. “Why don’t they play music anymore?”
At MTV’s upfront today, newly appointed president Sean Atkins told the audience at their beautifully extravagant upfront in NYC, that they are “bringing back the music.” Atkins is referring to their first live music show in nearly 20 years that will launch in partnership with Comedy Central. Handing out purple bracelets to every attendee they also honored Prince, whose sudden death today shocked the industry.
Atkins also described their “unexpected new formats,” which include bringing back the legendary Cribs brand to Snapchat. They are also investing heavily in podcasts for MTV news. Here are the details.
Cribs is coming back to MTV via Snapchat:
Snapchat continues to take over social TV. The platform has transcended marketing efforts for MTV’s major tent pole events and is now a platform for original programming. They even had a dedicated area and "booth" for their Snapchat discovery channel at the upfront. According to the network:
MTV is raising the game on original programming for Snapchat Discover by re-launching one of the network’s most iconic and beloved series, Cribs, as a short-form series created specifically for Snapchat. Artists and celebrities will have the opportunity to guide Snapchat’s over 100 million daily active users through their homes, providing fans with an intimate, vertical video viewing experience right in the palm of their hands.
CRIBS for Snapchat will launch in late June and air weekly. Each episode will showcase one celebrity or artist hosting a personalized tour of their home (as opposed to several per episode in past episodes). Throughout each episode, celebrities will talk to camera, guiding fans through a show-and-tell experience of their digs, latest obsessions, and toys (whether that be a sneaker collection, recording studio, or what’s inside the refrigerator). Mac Miller, Austin Mahone and Travis Mills are among the first artists to participate in the CRIBS reboot.
New podcasts produced by MTV News that will be available via iTunes, Spotify and SoundCloud:
SKILLSET WITH AMY NICHOLSON: MTV News' flagship film podcast in which Chief Cultural Critic Amy Nicholson talks to lawyers, barbers, musicians and cat-wranglers about movies and talks to actors about everything else. Amy's first guests include Michael Shannon, Ethan Hawke, and Sharlto Copley.
NO REQUESTS LIVE: A weekly music-and-pop-culture roundtable show, with an all-star team of MTV News writers, contributors and friends reacting to all the breaking news of the week. Think of The McLaughlin Group, if everyone on The McLaughlin Group was obsessed with Beyoncé-leak rumors, Empire plot twists, and Soundcloud noise bands.
THE STAKES: A weekly political magazine show that attempts to make sense of the most insane election season of our young century, via contributions from MTV News' entire Politics team, including Ana Marie Cox, Jamil Smith, Jane Coaston, Marcus Ellsworth, Kaleb Horton, and many more.
NORTH MOLLYWOOD: Living podcasting legends Molly Lambert (Grantland’s GIRLS IN HOODIES) and Alex Pappademas (DO YOU LIKE PRINCE MOVIES) share a studio for the first time, breaking down pop-cultural developments from a California perspective and becoming each other’s best friend (and yours).
SPEED DIAL WITH IRA & DOREEN: Ira Madison III and Doreen St Félix host MTV News' first bi-coastal podcast on the subject of music, pop culture, sex, and race — presented as a late night phone call between friends with a laidback, R&B quiet storm vibe. It's Brandy and Monica in "The Boy is Mine" video, but instead they're friends and kicked Mehki Phifer's ass to the curb.
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