Keshet International (KI), the leading global content distributor and producer, signed its first licensing deal for Showdown, the new singing talent format it launched at MIPCOM 2018.

This agreement with Rustavi will also see Georgia’s most successful private broadcasting company license a second primetime talent format from Ki – Master Class, the feel-good musical talent show where children sing all-time classics with only positive reviews and no eliminations.

Both singing formats are based on original series developed and produced by Tedy Productions for Keshet 12 in Israel, and both will be adapted locally by Rustavi’s in-house production team for Rustavi 2, Georgia’s most watched free-to-air channel (which also broadcasts via satellite to Europe, the European part of Russia and to the Middle East).

Rustavi 2 has licensed a full cycle of Showdown (12 x 120’), the international format based upon Keshet 12’s Showdown Aviv Or Eyal, which premiered strongly in Israel last summer, outperforming its lead-in show and slot averages while building audiences week-on-week.  Described by K7 as “a full-on, powerfully talent-driven take on the singing talent contest”, Showdown Aviv Or Eyal saw two of Israel’s most popular and controversial performers, Aviv Geffen and Eyal Golan, take their well-known rivalry to primetime in a battle to discover the nation’s next great singing talent.  More than a singing competition, Showdown is a no-holds-barred battle between two giants from opposing worlds to influence the next generation of upcoming singers to join their musical camps. Currently in pre-production and casting for its two stars, Showdown is slated to premiere later this summer.