MTV’s iconic prank show “Punk’d” and 1990’s dating series “Singled Out” will both find a second life on Jeffrey Katzenberg’s $1 billion streaming startup Quibi, the two companies announced Tuesday morning.
Available exclusively on Quibi, both of the shows will launch 20 new episodes of under 10 minutes in length.
“Punk’d” will be produced by STXtelevision in association with MTV Studios, while “Singled Out” will be produced by MTV Studios.
“This deal builds on MTV’s strategy of reinventing our iconic shows to reach new audiences on pioneering new platforms like Quibi,” Chris McCarthy, president of MTV, said. “We are excited to be working with Jeffrey, Doug and the Quibi team to reinvent ‘Punk’d’ and ‘Singled Out’ for a new generation of fans.”
“For the generation who grew up watching ‘Punk’d’ and ‘Singled Out’ on MTV, this represents a long overdue reboot of two well-loved shows. It’s also an opportunity to bring these enduring and classic MTV franchises to a brand new audience on our exciting new platform,” Quibi advisor Doug Herzog added.
The two series join a growing line up of Quibi Originals produced and directed by A-list talent including directors Sam Raimi (“Spider-Man”), Guillermo del Toro (“The Shape of Water”), Antoine Fuqua (“The Magnificent Seven”) and producer Jason Blum (“Get Out”).
Founded by Katzenberg and headed by former Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman, Quibi closed a $1 billion round of funding in August from 21st Century Fox, Disney, NBCUniversal, Viacom and WarnerMedia among others. The service, which is expected to launch in 2020, will debut with a two-tier pricing model: an $8-per-month option that doesn’t include advertising and a $5-per-month tier that has limited ads.