Cannes – With global productions like Idols, The X Factor and Got Talent, and local drama formats such as Wentworth and Confrontation, FremantleMedia has announced that it has more titles in production than ever before with 217 productions currently in the works across 117 territories.
Leading the charge is the long-running game show format Family Feud. Local versions of the popular game show are now produced in 60 territories worldwide. Other international commissions include Farmer Wants a Wife, Everybody Dance Now and Family Harmony.
Farmer Wants a Wife Australia
Having launched at MIPTV 2013, two of FremantleMedia’s newest formats have already generated commissions from broadcasters. The feel-good format, Family Harmony, created by Attraction Images, completed three brand new deals and two recommissions. Local versions of the title will launch in Ukraine (Inter) and Kazakhstan (Khabar).
RTS Un in Switzerland has already committed to a second season following the show’s successful debut in May 2013. The news brings the total number of markets in which the format will appear to six.
Meanwhile, the dance contest format Everybody Dance Now from FremantleMedia’s Blue Circle has been recommissioned for Holland’s RTL4, the most-watched commercial station in the country, following a hugely successful first series. A local version of the title is due to air shortly in Thailand; two other commissions are imminent for 2014.
The reality series Project Runway from The Weinstein Company has successfully been taken to 21 territories including Australia, Canada, Latin America and the Middle East, with a new sale to Italy, the news further shapes the title into one of the most popular fashion formats worldwide.
In the realm of dating shows, the hit format Farmer Wants a Wife tracks the lives of single farmers looking to meet their perfect partners. It has established itself as a global sensation having ranked as the No. 1 show in its time period in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Norway and Sweden. In the Netherlands, the local version of Farmer Wants a Wife has been the No. 1 entertainment show in the country since 1995. The format is the top travelling dating show worldwide having travelled to 29 territories and is continuing to generate long-term success with audiences worldwide.
Rob Clark, Director, Global Entertainment Development, FremantleMedia said, “This has been a big year even by FremantleMedia’s standards! Our team has tirelessly worked with broadcasters to establish high-end local versions of our formats in all major territories bringing huge global hits to local audiences. The result is that we now have the highest number of productions currently in production across all of our titles ever. We are also coming to MIPCOM with a stellar slate of new and exciting formats which we are confident will appeal to both broadcasters and audiences around the world.”
This year’s slate of FremantleMedia formats includes Genealogy Roadshow from Big Mountain Productions, a part detective story, part emotional journey, that uncovers the fascinating stories behind our pasts using history and science to dig deep into family secrets; BBC ONE’s best-performing quiz show of 2013, Break The Safe, a nerve tingling studio-based primetime format that follows three pairs of contestants as they battle it out over a series of fast-paced rounds – filling a safe with prize money along the way.
Through The Keyhole, which recently launched on the UK’s ITV to strong ratings, is part quiz, part panel and part chat show, the format takes viewers on a VIP tour like no other, looking around the homes of some of our favourite celebrities, while a studio panel of celebrity guests try to answer the question; and The Boxing Glove, the knockout comedy format from Fuji TV. The Boxing Glove has already been picked up by six broadcasters including CTN in Cambodia, IVM in Indonesia, Televisa in Mexico, TVI in Portugal and Channel 3 in Thailand.
