CBS AND MTV ANNOUNCE VAN TOFFLER'S RETURN TO THE VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS (VMAS)

Legendary Music Producer and His Company, Gunpowder & Sky, Join the CBS Television Network's Inaugural Broadcast of the VMAs as Producers Alongside Den of Thieves

CBS and MTV will bring back Van Toffler, who helped build the VMAs into a pop-culture phenomenon, in a multi-year deal with his studio Gunpowder & Sky, co-founded with Floris Bauer, to supercharge the show from a single night into a week-long, multiplatform celebration of music and music videos leading up to the main event.

CBS will present the 2025 VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS for the first time, airing LIVE from UBS Arena, Sunday, Sept. 7 (8:00-11:00 PM, ET/5:00-8:00 PM PT), and streaming on Paramount+. The CBS broadcast will also simulcast on MTV with a one-hour live pre-show to air across Paramount Media Networks.

In the run up to the 2025 VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS on CBS, MTV will air an unprecedented week of 24/7 music videos across MTV2, MTV Live and MTV Classic, both classic and current, in a revival of the brand's early DNA reimagined for today's audiences. Past VMA winners and legendary MTV personalities will return to curate and spotlight their seven favorite music videos of all time, offering fans an intimate glimpse into the music videos that shaped them.

"The VMAs have always been where music and spectacle collide, and no one embodies that spirit more than Van Toffler," said Paramount co-CEOs Chris McCarthy and George Cheeks who also run Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and CBS, respectively. "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."

"We're not just producing a show," said Toffler, CEO of Gunpowder & Sky. "We're launching a celebration of music that spans one week, every screen and every generation. 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. This is about honoring that spirit while blowing open what's possible across every format."

Toffler's creative fingerprints are etched into music television history: Beyoncé's pregnancy reveal, Madonna-Britney-Christina, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, THE OSBOURNES, BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD, UNPLUGGED, JACKASS and more. He returns to the brand he is inexorably connected to with a mission to bring back the edge, spontaneity and punch that made the VMAs the most talked about annual event. Since leaving MTV in 2015, Toffler has continued to push the boundaries of music storytelling with his company Gunpowder & Sky, building a genre-defying portfolio across film, TV, VR, podcasts and digital series, producing content that is as emotionally resonant as it is daring. From Emmy-nominated VR experiences and Audible's critically acclaimed "Words + Music," Spotify's "Drawn & Recorded," Amazon's "Seismic" and YouTube's "Released," to documentaries on artists ranging from Sheryl Crow to Lil Peep, and films like "Her Smell," "Lords of Chaos" and "Hearts Beat Loud," Gunpowder & Sky has redefined how music stories are told.

The 2024 VMAs delivered its biggest multinetwork audience in four years (+25% YOY) and ranked as the most social VMAs in show history, with 66.7 million social interactions.

Nominations, performers and additional details will be announced closer to the show.

The 2025 VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS are executive produced by Bruce Gillmer and Den of Thieves co-founder Jesse Ignjatovic. Barb Bialkowski is showrunner. Alicia Portugal is co-executive producer. Jackie Barba is executive in charge of production. Wendy Plaut is executive in charge of celebrity talent. Lisa Lauricella is executive in charge of music talent.

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