For the first time in 25 years, MTV is adding TV programs to its annual MTV Movie Awards celebration.
The kudocast will be renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards and is set to air live May 7 from the Shrine Auditorium.
“We’re living in a golden age of content, and great storytelling and characters resonate regardless of whether you’re watching it in a theater or on TV,” said MTV president Chris McCarthy. “The new ‘MTV Movie & TV Awards’ will celebrate even more of the brightest, bravest, funniest and most shared films and TV shows resonating across youth culture.”
MTV’s move is a sign of the times for pop culture, where TV-related content has become a gigantic driver of discussion and buzz for traditional and social media.
The overhaul of the MTV event will include the launch of a daylong festival outside the Shrine Auditorium that is in keeping with the new Viacom regime’s mandate to craft live events around its cable brands as both a revenue-generating and brand-enhancing initiative. The “MTV Movie and Television Festival” will include live music performances and an array of food options.
The May 7 timing for the 2017 kudos is about a month later than in recent years. Last year the ceremony was held in April from a stage on the Warner Bros. studio lot. In 2015, the kudos were held at downtown L.A.’s Nokia Theater.
The MTV Movie Awards bowed in 1992 with Dennis Miller as host. More details of this year’s talent roster and host will be released in the coming weeks, MTV said.
Casey Patterson will exec produce the MTV Movie & TV Awards for the second year. MTV’s Garrett English will also exec produce.
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