Tel Aviv – CCTV, China’s main public broadcaster, has licensed a trio of formats from Armoza, in partnership with Beijing Century Media, including factual format House Call and game show Extreme Wedding Album while also re-commissioning a third season of the popular game show Upgrade.

The first season of Upgrade aired on CCTV-2 from September 2013 to great ratings, and was directly followed by a second season commission, which aired over the Chinese New Year holidays. The popular daily show is now already under preparation for a third season on CCTV, produced by Beijing Century Media. Both House Call and Extreme Wedding Album are currently in planning with air dates set for later in 2014.

Upgrade (30’), developed by Armoza Formats and Tanin Productions and now on air in over 10 territories, is the game show that goes into people’s homes and offers them a chance to upgrade their personal items for brand new ones. Each home can wager their belongings against their trivia skills. If they answer correctly, their homes will be upgraded, but if they answer incorrectly, the items they own will be taken away.

Upgrade (China)

House Call (60’), developed by United Studios of Israel, is a powerful and dramatic factual format that changes a family’s life in order to save it, by bringing a team of doctors to visit one family each episode and make them take a close look at how their lifestyle is affecting their health.

Extreme Wedding Album (45’), developed by Reality Productions and Channel 10, gives one bride and groom the chance to exchange the traditional photo shoot for an extreme and emotional game show, which will bring them closer to winning an all-expenses paid wedding – just a few hours later – by creating an action-filled photo album based on the extreme challenges they must perform. The Ukrainian adaptation aired last year on Inter TV and was the absolute leader in its time slot.

Extreme Wedding Album

Wei Zheng, Vice President of the Business Channel in CCTV, said: “Upgrade is a show that tests wisdom and courage, and is a huge hit with the Chinese viewers. We are looking forward to working on Extreme Wedding Album and House Call and are excited to continue working with formats from Armoza.”

Jianzhong Liang, Managing Director of Beijing Century Media, said: “Upgrade makes people feel nervous and excited, which is not only entertaining, but also educational. It touches ordinary people’s hearts and helps them to make their dreams come true. This is why we love the format – it brings happiness to Chinese people.”

Avi Armoza, CEO of Armoza Formats, said: “The first season of Upgrade on CCTV was a huge success both in terms of ratings and in terms of partnership, and we are delighted to continue working with CCTV. With their exceptional standards of programming, we are confident that the third season of Upgrade, as well as Extreme Wedding Album and House Call will perform incredibly well in this crucial territory.”