On June 5 at the Telefilm Vietnam 2014 international television market (June 5-7, Ho Chi Minh City), TBS and government-operated Vietnam Television (VTV) announced their agreement to produce a local version of the TBS sports entertainment programme Sasuke in Vietnam. The new series is scheduled to reach Vietnamese viewers by early 2015.

Participating in Telefilm Vietnam 2014 with a special area inside the venue, VTV and TBS recreated two popular Sasuke obstacles at full scale: the “Warped Wall” and the “Tarzan Rope”. The exhibit of these world-renowned obstacles vividly impressed upon visitors the reality of Sasuke coming to Vietnam. VTV President Tran Binh Minh, who officiated at the opening ceremony of Telefilm Vietnam 2014, announced the new Vietnamese Sasuke in front of the two obstacles, garnering excellent TV coverage.

Sasuke Vietnam

Like the original Japanese programme, the Vietnamese version of Sasuke will feature four gruelling stages, and plans call for a full-scale set to be built in the country. The Vietnamese Sasuke production team already had visited Sasuke ASEAN Open Cup held in February in Malaysia and Sasuke Rising filmed in May at Midoriyama in Japan.

Sasuke content (including the U.S. version, (American) Ninja Warrior) has been aired in 157 countries and territories. Sales extend through Asia, Europe, and North America, as well as the Middle East and Latin America. Vietnam will become the fourth country to produce a local version of the programme, following upon the U.S., Malaysia, and Singapore. Moreover, Vietnam will become the second country outside Japan and the first country in Southeast Asia to build a full-scale four-stage Sasuke obstacle course. The first country outside Japan to produce such a course was the U.S., for the finals of American Ninja Warrior in Las Vegas.