Fresh off VH1’s record-breaking “Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party,” Creator of MTV’s Highest-Rated Series Ever Renews Agreement
Hollywood, CA — January 18, 2017 – Showing its continued commitment to the production company, Viacom today announced its 7th consecutive overall deal with 495 Productions encompassing development for MTV, BET, VH1, Spike and CMT. 495’s most recent Viacom project, VH1’s “Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party,” was the highest-rated unscripted franchise launch on cable in 2016 and has already been renewed for a second season. 495 has a long relationship with Viacom as the creator of many series for its networks, including the global pop-culture phenomenon “Jersey Shore.”
“SallyAnn is a bona fide hitmaker who has an infectious passion and amazing feel for our brands and what it takes to break through culture to connect in big ways,” said Nina L. Diaz, Head of Unscripted Programming for MTV and VH1. “MTV and VH1 have an unmatched legacy for turning the unscripted genre on its head, and we’re super excited to partner with SallyAnn to bring even more unique and bold new series to our audiences.”
SallyAnn Salsano, CEO and Founder of 495 Productions says, “Viacom has been such a huge part of my life, both as a viewer growing up and as a producer over the past decade, so I am thrilled to renew this overall deal. I remain grateful for the shared success of our past but I am already dreaming of the huge future that lies ahead. Now it’s time to turn up the beats, do a shot, and get America talking again. The new leadership at Viacom is like me: fearless, excited, fans of reality TV and pop culture, and I’m particularly excited to get back in it at MTV and work with Chris, Nina and their team get it rockin’.”
495 Productions boasts one of the most diverse, entertaining and commercially successful rosters of reality programming on television, with a number of hit series across Viacom networks including VH1’s “Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party;” Spike’s “Tattoo Nightmares,” and “Tattoo Nightmares Miami;” and CMT’s “Party Down South.”
About Viacom
Viacom is home to premier global media brands that create compelling television programs, motion pictures, short-form content, apps, games, consumer products, social media experiences, and other entertainment content for audiences in more than 180 countries. Viacom’s media networks, including Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Spike, BET, CMT, TV Land, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., Logo, Nicktoons, TeenNick, Channel 5 (UK), Telefe (Argentina) and Paramount Channel, reach over 3.9 billion cumulative television subscribers worldwide. Paramount Pictures is a major global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com. Keep up with Viacom news by following Viacom’s blog at blog.viacom.com and Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/viacom.
About 495 Productions:
SallyAnn Salsano is the founder and creative force behind the 495 Productions team. Since its launch in 2006, 495’s creative team has specialized in developing programs that entertain viewers while keeping them glued to their screens. 495 became known throughout the world thanks to its record breaking, “Jersey Shore” which premiered on MTV in December of 2009 and instantly became a global pop-culture phenomenon. Some of 495’s additional hit shows include: the syndicated daytime talk show “The Real,” “Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party” (VH1), CMT’s highest rated show ever “Party Down South,” “Blue Collar Millionaires” (CNBC), “Tattoo Nightmares” (Spike), “Mother/Daughter Experiment: Celebrity Edition,” (Lifetime), “Snooki & JWOWW” (MTV), “Disaster Date” (MTV), “Tattoos After Dark” (Oxygen), “Repo Games” (Spike) , “Wedding Wars” (VH1), several seasons of HGTV’s #1 rated show “Design Star,” Oxygen’s #1 rated show “Dance Your Ass Off,” “A Shot At Love” (MTV), “Tool Academy” (VH1), and many others. In March 2014 it was announced that Fremantle Media acquired a majority stake in 495 Productions.
