Latest news with #Gunpowder&Sky
USA Today
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Feeling nostalgic? 24/7 music videos return to MTV ahead of the 2025 VMAs
MTV is bringing back a taste of nostalgia and iconic jams to our television screens. Ahead of the 2025 Video Music Awards in September, the network plans to air "classic and current" music videos 24/7 for a week on the channels MTV 2, MTV Live and MTV Classic, according to a press release. The special, described as "a revival of the brand's early DNA for today's audiences," will also feature MTV personalities and previous VMA winners who will highlight their favorite music videos. MTV changed the game with its launch in 1981, playing music around the clock and breaking new stars. It shifted the artists' focus from solely radio to also their visual image. The boy is (still) theirs: Brandy and Monica reunite for The Boy is Mine Tour When are the 2025 Video Music Awards? The VMAs are scheduled to air live on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. ET from UBS Arena in New York. The award show will be broadcast on both CBS and MTV as well as be available to stream on Paramount+, the press release stated. The nominees and performers have yet to be announced. This year's VMAs will mark the return of producer and CEO of digital media company Gunpowder & Sky, who has been tied to epic moments, such as Beyoncé's 2011 mic-dropping performance when she revealed she was pregnant. "We're not just producing a show. We're launching a celebration of music that spans one week, every screen and every generation," Gunpowder & Sky CEO Van Toffler said in the press release. "Music has always been the heartbeat of the VMAs, but the show's soul comes from its willingness to break rules, embrace unpredictability and reflect the times." Contributing: Jim Lenahan, USA TODAY. Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@ We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn't influence our coverage.
Los Angeles Times
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
MTV veteran Van Toffler returns to produce VMAs for Paramount
Who says you can't go home again? MTV's influential architect, Van Toffler, is returning to Paramount Global in a multi-year deal to help produce the Video Music Awards, which has long been a signature pop-culture event for the network and music industry. Paramount said Tuesday that it had struck a multi-year arrangement with Toffler, through his Gunpowder & Sky content studio, to 'supercharge' the VMA's 'into a week-long, multiplatform celebration of music and music videos.' The show is set for Sept. 7 at the UBS Arena on Long Island in New York. During his 28 years at the company, then known as Viacom, Toffler built MTV into a ratings and youth culture juggernaut, overseeing such touchstones as 'The Osbournes,' 'Beavis and Butthead,' 'Jackass,' 'Unplugged,' and the VMA's. Toffler exited a decade ago to launch Gunpowder & Sky, which has produced documentaries about Sheryl Crow, Lil Peep and others. It also has experimented with podcasts, digital series and augmented reality. The reunion comes as Paramount struggles to retain the cachet of some of its biggest franchises, including the VMA's, as the cable television landscape shrinks because of the shift to streaming. This year marks the first time the MTV stalwart will be simulcast on Paramount's broadcast network CBS in a bid to expand the audience and give CBS more live programming to help kick off the fall television season. The show also will stream on Paramount+. 'The VMAs have always been where music and spectacle collide, and no one embodies that spirit more than Van Toffler,' Paramount co-CEOs Chris McCarthy and George Cheeks said in a joint statement. 'Bringing Van back to the VMAs, along with Gunpowder & Sky, is about reigniting the rebellious soul of the show with a week-long music immersion and delivering global moments that are impossible to ignore.' MTV plans a week of music videos to try to resurrect the magic of the era when 20-somethings turned to MTV for music and entertainment. The approach will be tailored for today's audiences with current videos. Past VMA winners and former MTV personalities will return to curate their favorite videos. 'We're launching a celebration of music that spans one week, every screen and every generation,' Toffler said. He will produce the show in conjunction with the firm, Den of Thieves. This year's show comes as Paramount is in the process of being sold to David Ellison's Skydance Media. For that $8 billion deal, approved last July, to move forward, Paramount needs approval from the Federal Communications Commission. Paramount needs the FCC to approve the transfer of CBS' station licenses to the Ellison family. But the deal hit a snag over amid negotiations to settle President Trump's $20-billion lawsuit over '60 Minutes' edits to a Kamala Harris interview last fall. The delay in the deal's approval has cast a shadow over Paramount, complicating business decisions, including nabbing the streaming rights to Comedy Central's long-running cartoon, 'South Park.'
