MTV show will be simulcast on CBS. '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,' Toffler said.

Van Toffler, who helped build MTV into a powerhouse during a nearly three-decade run at Viacom, is returning to play a large role with this year's Video Music Awards. Toffler's Gunpowder & Sky shingle (which he launched with Floris Bauer in 2016),

Van Toffler is going back to where it began after striking a deal to produce the Video Music awards. Toffler, who spent nearly 30 years at the youth-skewing music network, rising to president of MTV Networks Music and Logo Group,

Van Toffler, a former head of MTV (and other cable networks at the company then known as Viacom), and his company Gunpowder & Sky have signed a multi-year deal with MTV and CBS to, as the networks put it,