MTV Acquires Snowglobe Music Festival

MTV today expanded its global live events business into the U.S. with the acquisition of SnowGlobe Music Festival, the nation's premier outdoor New Year's Eve music festival. The annual, three-day event takes place December 29-31 in South Lake Tahoe, California and welcomes more than 20,000 fans each day with a mix of musical performances, live action sports, and interactive art exhibitions. Artists from Kendrick Lamar to Post Malone to Zedd and many more have performed at SnowGlobe, which is highlighted by its iconic countdown party at midnight on New Year's Eve. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"With SnowGlobe, MTV is taking the natural next step in its resurgence by expanding deeper into live events, as we continue to reach our fans and capitalize on our strong brand in new ways," said Chris McCarthy, President of MTV, VH1, CMT, and Logo. "In a festival space where many events have become indistinguishable, SnowGlobe stands out with a unique mix of music, sports, and art that makes it a favorite among artists and its growing audience."

"With SnowGlobe, we've always endeavored to create an event experience that sets itself apart from the typical music festival model," said Chad Donnelly, CEO of SnowGlobe, "We are incredibly excited to be joining the MTV family, whose legacy of developing boundary breaking programming and events perfectly aligns with our long-standing ambition of creative innovation."

Now in its eighth year, the 2018 lineup includes Above & Beyond, Diplo, Eric Prydz, Rezz and RL Grime headlining among more than 40 artists performing across three stages. SnowGlobe will also feature all-new art installations and the festival's signature "Big Air" activation showcasing extreme winter sports demonstrations.

MTV, in collaboration with the SnowGlobe team, plans to expand SnowGlobe to additional dates and locations worldwide and leverage its team to launch other new events as well. SnowGlobe will also be a platform for MTV to reinvent its New Year's Eve coverage, serving as the centerpiece for multiplatform programming and connecting live with the action at MTV's iconic Times Square studio. SnowGlobe joins MTV's extensive portfolio of international events, which attract more than half a million attendees each year. From the "MTV EMAs" which travel to a new city each year to the "MIAWs" in Mexico and Brazil or "Isle of MTV" in Malta, MTV hosts more on-the-ground, live music events around the world than any other global youth media network.

The move is MTV's latest step to build on its success and expand and diversify beyond cable TV. MTV currently leads all cable networks in ratings growth, driving its longest streak of growth in seven years. In June, MTV launched MTV Studios, which develops original series for SVOD and premium partners and recently announced a global reimagination of MTV's Real World for Facebook Watch. The new MTV Digital Studios is generating strong growth across platforms, doubling video streams in 2018 to date and growing to more than 350 million social media followers.

SnowGlobe's three-day festival passes are available now.

SnowGlobe has featured acts including Childish Gambino, Tiesto, Disclosure, Flume, Snoop Dogg, Major Lazer, Post Malone, Odesza, The Chainsmokers, G-Eazy, Wiz Khalifa, Kaskade, Phantogram and many more. Last year's event featured performances by Travis Scott, Khalid, Zedd and Dillon Francis, among others.

To post a comment, you must register and login.