MTV'S "THE REAL WORLD" RETURNS TO 'THE BIG EASY' AS PRODUCTION BEGINS ON THE 24th SEASON OF THE FRANCHISE IN EARLY 2010

The Real World: D.C. Premiered As Wednesday's #1 Original Cable Series Among P12-34

As the country takes a turn towards recovery in 2010, MTV's "The Real World" is returning to New Orleans - a city of perseverance and new beginnings - to embark on the 24th season of the series which will premiere in Q3 2010. MTV has ordered 12 episodes and is scheduled to begin production in early 2010. The news comes after "The Real World: D.C." premiered last week and delivered a 1.9 P12-34 rating and a total audience of 1.9 million viewers and both "The Real World: Brooklyn" and "The Real World: Cancun" ranked among 2009's top rated cable series in the P12-34 demo.

Throughout the 23 seasons of the series, "The Real World" has been one of the highest rated shows on MTV. "The Real World: D.C." ranked as Wednesday's #1 original cable series among P12-34. "The Real World: D.C." airs Wednesdays at 10pm ET/PT on MTV.

"We are delighted to be returning to New Orleans for the 24th season of 'The Real World," said creator and Executive Producer Jon Murray. "Hurricane Katrina threw New Orleans for a punch, but the city is coming back and we're hoping our cast members and the series can play a small role in the city's rebirth."

"New Orleans is pleased and grateful to welcome MTV's 'The Real World' back to the city," said Director, New Orleans Office of Film & Video Jennifer Day. "Young people have played a pivotal role in the city's recovery and we look forward to the cast members' participation in our vibrant community."

"The Real World" launched the modern reality television genre and is the longest-running reality series in history. Past seasons have taken place in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Miami, Boston, Seattle, Hawaii, New Orleans, Chicago, Las Vegas, Paris, San Diego, Philadelphia, Austin, Key West, Denver, Sydney, Hollywood, Brooklyn, Cancun and D.C. The first season, set in New York City, debuted in 1992. Each season, the show brings seven, and now eight, young adults to live together in a new city and rolls the cameras 24-7. Audience's witness their lives intersect, their ideas challenged and their passions emerge.

"The Real World" was created for MTV by Jon Murray and Mary-Ellis Bunim of Bunim-Murray Productions. Jon Murray and Jim Johnston serve as Executive Producers of "The Real World." Jacquelyn French is the MTV executive overseeing the project.

About MTV Network:

MTV is the dynamic, vibrant experiment at the intersection of music, creativity and youth culture. For over 28 years, MTV has evolved, challenged the norm, and detonated boundaries�giving each new generation a creative outlet and voice that entertains, informs and unites on every platform and screen. On-air, MTV is the number one rated full-day ad-supported cable network for P12-24. Online, MTV.com averaged 8.5 million monthly unique visitors during the first quarter of 2009�up +6% from Q4/2008 and up +6% year-over-year. Total video streams for the first quarter of 2009 increased 21% over the same time period last year. And MTV's successful sibling networks MTV2, mtvU and MTV Tr3s each deliver unprecedented customized content, super-serving music fans, college students and young American Latinos like no one else. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

About Bunim-Murray Productions:

Bunim-Murray Productions is the leading independent producer of innovative entertainment content. The company is widely credited with creating the reality television genre with its hit series The Real World (now in post production on its 23rd season and renewed for an additional 3 seasons on MTV). BMP continued to innovate with the first reality game show, Road Rules, in 1995, the first reality sitcom, The Simple Life, in 2003, and the first reality soap opera, Starting Over, in 2003. Bunim-Murray's current programming includes The Bad Girls Club (Oxygen), Keeping up with the Kardashians and Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami (E!), The Real World/Road Rules Challenge (renewed for an additional 4 seasons on MTV), Project Runway and the Models of the Runway (Lifetime) and Styl'd. Launched in 2006 to better reach the Digital Generation, Bunim-Murray's M Theory Entertainment is a spin-off entity focusing on new media initiatives. In 2007 Bunim-Murray launched BMP Films, a film division, which premiered its first documentary, Autism: The Musical, at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, and its first scripted film Pedro, at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival, which made its television debut on April 1 on MTV. Autism: The Musical premiered to rave reviews on HBO on March 25, 2008 and won 2 Primetime EMMY awards. The company's second documentary, Shadow Billionaire, premiered at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. In 2008 Bunim-Murray Productions formed M Music, a music management division, with its first band, A Cursive Memory, signing with Vagrant Records. Bunim-Murray Productions is based in Van Nuys, CA. It was founded in 1987 by Jonathan Murray and the late Mary-Ellis Bunim.