Facebook makes Complex deal

Verizon- and Hearst-owned multichannel producer Complex Networks is preparing to launch four original shortform series on Facebook’s fledgling Watch platform.

Shows include food series Taste Buds, which follows TV personality Daym Drops as he goes on wild food adventures in his car, with special guests riding shotgun.

Price the Hype, which claims to be the first-ever gameshow about trainers/sneakers, sees contestants testing their knowledge through trivia and challenges, while Dumb as Hell explores pop culture.

Complex is also behind Everything’s For Sale, which sees products being pitched to unsuspecting shoppers.

Rich Antoniello, CEO at Complex Networks, said the shows “continue our commitment to experimenting with new formats and platforms to build community and engagement with our audience.”

Male-skewing Complex Networks focuses on lifestyle content for 18-34s and claims its channels generate more than 810 million video views and three billion-plus impressions monthly.

In August Fuse Media in the US agreed a partnership with Complex Networks to distribute each other’s content on their respective pay TV and digital platforms.

Facebook unveiled its Watch platform this summer and has been ramping up its originals, which include a show based on blog series Humans of New York.