Reality show "The Real World" is heading to Facebook Watch, the social network's video streaming service.
The MTV series, one of the first reality shows, ran for 32 seasons from 1992 to 2017 and it will return as three interactive series on Facebook in the U.S., Mexico and Thailand early next year, according to a Reuters report on Wednesday. It will include interactive elements where viewers make suggestions for the show.
Facebook's Watch service, launched in August 2017, is personalized around what friends are watching and was a latecomer to the streaming video market. Facebook wants to get more of the video ad market, projected to hit $19.81 billion in the U.S. by 2020 according to consultancy eMarketer. Meanwhile, MTV-owner Viacom is focused on a turnaround plan, overseen by chief executive Bob Bakish who has been in the role since 2016.
MTV claims that "The Real World" was the show that "invented modern reality television," according to an online statement in June, in which it announced the launch of its MTV Studios unit that will produce new and revamped series. "The Real World" is described as a place where seven strangers in a house "stop being polite and start getting real."
In August, Facebook made Watch video available worldwide, expanding it out of the U.S. where it launched a year before. Facebook is also expanding its ad breaks option for publishers and people who make videos. It had previously tested these with certain publishers but now those who meet its eligibility criteria will be able to include ads.
Ad breaks will be available in the U.S., U.K., Ireland, New Zealand and Australia and from September video-makers in some of South America and Europe, as well as Mexico and Thailand, have also been able to put ads in their content.