Cannes – French production powerhouse KABO Family and Canadian media company Contenu QMI (subsidiary of Quebecor Media) have signed a co-development partnership deal. The announcement was made by Christian Baumard, CEO, KABO Family and André Provencher, Vice President, Creation and International Development, Contenu QMi.
The two companies are joining forces to produce comedy formats using a similar model to KABO’s unique Pick’n Mix sitcom format formula, which is comprised of individual comedy sketches that can be assembled in any order to suit a broadcaster’s programming schedule. Episodes feature a ‘slice of life’, exploring the richness and complexity of the character relationships. Pick’n Mix can be built around brief clips that can be adapted to various broadcast formats, ranging from 13 to 52 minutes.
KABO International, which is spearheaded by Managing Director Arabelle Pouliot-Di Crescenzo, will be responsible for overall worldwide distribution of the new programmes emerging from this new venture.
“We are proud to join KABO in the co-development of these projects – a first in the co-operation between France and Quebec. This new partnership allows us to emphasize our desire to showcase the talent and the Quebec know-how abroad, this time via dramatic writing and to better serve multi-platform needs,”commented André Provencher, Vice President, Creation and International Development, Contenu QMi.
“This development deal between KABO and Contenu QMi will allow us to blend our creative forces in order to create new projects that will have very strong international potential, and as such, we feel that this European/North American Alliance will yield some exciting formats over the coming months,” added Christian Baumard, CEO, KABO Family.
For Contenu QMi, this new partnership with KABO represents a third international co-development agreement, adding to the ones it signed last year with Armoza Formats (Israel) and TF1 Production (France), as well as its local partnerships with Quebec-based producers. This latest KABO partnership intensifies Contenu QMi’s strategy for properties aimed at a worldwide markets, while simultaneously fulfilling the needs of Quebec viewers in search of high-quality, innovative audiovisual content.