“MTV’s Shore Thing” will broadcast all summer from a beach house on the boardwalk, just as it did in 1998.
Beginning April 29, MTV will take over a two-story house on the boardwalk, between Kearney and Fremont avenues, using it as backdrop for shows and specials, including “Total Request Live.”
The house is occupied by the Seaside Heights Beach Patrol, which will move to a nearby bathhouse to make room for the cable network’s production operations.
MTV will pay $45,000 to renovate the bathhouse and $44,000 in cash to the borough as compensation. But civic leaders say the value of the media exposure is worth much more.
“There’s a tremendous amount of residuals that last for years,” said Borough Administrator John Camera. “To be mentioned on a nationally broadcast channel like MTV daily throughout the whole summer, I can’t even guess at the cost.”
More than 100 people – some of them locals – will work for MTV through the four-month shoot.
MTV has used similar venues in Key West, Fla.; San Diego; and Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. This marks the first time the network’s summer programming has returned to a previous location.