CBS & MTV Align with Van Toffler

With the Video Music Awards (VMAs) set to air on CBS for the first time this year, the network and MTV have enlisted Van Toffler and Gunpowder & Sky to develop a slate of content to air in the week leading up to the event.

Toffler helped build the VMAs, leaving MTV in 2015 and subsequently founding Gunpowder & Sky with Floris Bauer.

The 2025 edition of the flagship MTV event airs on CBS and Paramount+ on September 7. 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 show, MTV will air 24/7 music videos across MTV2, MTV Live and MTV Classic. Past VMA winners and MTV personalities will be enlisted to curate their favorite music videos.

“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.”