MUMBAI: Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Asia, a division of Viacom, has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with AppleTool, a local general entertainment content provider and a subsidiary of VR1 Media Group, to bring MTV Thailand back for fans and viewers to enjoy the 24-hour world class youth entertainment channel.

VR1 Media Group operates two radio stations, a marketing event unit as well as a local general entertainment channel in Thailand. The channel will officially launch on 1 May on Ku-band satellite, which provides access to True Visions customers on Channel 59 on its free view pack, and on C-band satellite, which will reach over 10 million households. The channel?s test signal went live on 18 April.

"We have always seen Thailand as an important market for us, so getting ourselves back in this market is in line with our on-going strategy to extend the coverage of MTV across Asia. It was vital for us to find the right partner who is not only a strong local content producer, but shares the same synergy as we continue to promote and reflect local and cultural tastes and music talents across the region," said VIMN Asia?s executive vice president and managing director, Indra Suharjono. "This move also demonstrates our commitment to strengthen local programming and cater to the specific viewing preferences of Thai millennials."

AppleTool is a content provider, who produces local general entertainment channel and has a local block time on Channel 9 through its subsidiary O Noi Ogg.

"VR1 Media Group is very excited to collaborate with VIMN on this multi-year deal, to launch such an iconic youth entertainment brand like MTV by leveraging our strengths in local production and our strong relationships with agencies and advertisers," said R1 Media Group chief executive officer Byrd Kulpong Bunnag.

"We are confident that our extended distribution both on free-to-air C band and the True Visions platform will give the channel the ability to grow a strong base of core viewers across the whole of Thailand."

MUMBAI: MTV will be launching its new TV series named MTV Reality Stars on 16 March.

The show will air on Saturdays at 6.30 pm.

Reality Stars is a 12 episode, 22-minute comedy TV series based on the lives of four crazy friends - Krish, Kuldeep, Zameer and Tania, who get caught in the mad, mad world of reality television and their reality gets BAJAOED!

Krish writes reality shows, Kuldeep wants to be on a reality show, Tania is a reality show reject and Zameer hates reality shows. The story of these four takes off from the auditions of MTV Rejects, a show that tries to find the country?s biggest Reject, and from that fateful day, everything they have ever wanted in life? does not happen. In fact, as the reality of reality TV is revealed, things go so wrong that these four, who had come to Mumbai to be superstars, end up being reality stars!

Over the past few years, reality shows have truly captured the attention of young people and the two biggest shows for this generation are MTV Roadies and MTV Splitsvilla. This series takes a healthy dig at MTV and the madness that goes into creating these blockbuster reality shows. MTV Reality Stars aims to appeal to both reality show lovers and haters.

Reality Stars is a comedy that delves into some of the most baffling questions of our times: Are the girls on Splitsvilla really that bitchy or is there a reality school that trains them? Is Raghu really bald or does he shave his head for television? And of course, is Reality TV actually real?
 
MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy said, ?MTV brought reality to India and today it?s everywhere. You can love it or hate it, but you can?t run away from it. In this show, we take healthy digs at our biggest shows and the ability to laugh at ourselves has always made us more endearing to our audience. Unlike daily soaps, this is a finite series that is built around a tight script, a truly delightful cast and film level production standards. This is the future of Indian television and this is a genre we are committed to building."

The marketing campaign for the show will see 360 degree marketing promotion through various media verticals, including on-air promotions, digital activations, and on ground activities. The campaign will also see a contest run across 200 plus colleges in the country where a few selected students will get a chance to be a part of the new show, if he /she can prove to have the reality star quotient.