Keshet International (KI) has completed a deal that will see the entertaining physical word search puzzle gameshow The Search produced and broadcast in Spain.
KI has licensed the brilliantly simple and extremely addictive format to Spain’s largest and most successful production company The Mediapro Studio. The company will produce Sopa de letras for Aragón TV, a state-owned broadcaster which is part of the Spanish government’s FORTA media network.
The Search dynamically transforms the globally popular word search puzzle into a physical show that puts contestants’ knowledge, speed, and cognitive skills – as well as their ability to work together – to the ultimate test. Originally created by Youngest Media (Money Drop) and KI for Keshet 12, the format has already been adapted in Uruguay by Canal4, with 70 episodes commissioned to date.
At the center of this ambitious studio-based game show is the iconic word search grid – recreated as an interactive real-life LED game board on the studio floor. This vibrant, large-scale grid is the contestants’ physical playing field throughout the game, viewed from above by viewers at home so they can easily play along too.
Featuring four varied couplings of contestants – such as parent-child, co-workers, best friends, siblings, etc – and four rounds, The Search’s much-loved gameplay mechanic has been adapted to allow it to be stripped across weekdays in early primetime on Aragón TV. Sopa de letras is being filmed in Zaragoza in front of a live studio audience. Presented by Miki Nadal (Zapeando, Masterchef Celebrity, 90 Minuti), the Spanish adaptation of this fast-paced physical gameshow is expected to premiere later this year.
Kelly Wright, KI’s MD Distribution, comments, “The Search is a lively, exciting, and visually engaging game show that elevates the word search game we all know and love into a ”shout at the TV” entertainment experience for every generation. We are so thrilled to be partnering with the team at The Mediapro Studio to bring this format to viewers in Spain for the first time on Aragón TV.”
Amparo Castellano, Global Head of Non-Fiction at The Mediapro Studio says, “The Mediapro Studio is a company who are very committed to public television, and we are proud to find formats such as The Search, whose workings are dynamic, promote mental agility and is easily exportable. Being the first in Europe to adapt this format from Keshet, a benchmark in the gameshow genre, is another example of the work we do daily to find the formats with the most potential. In this sense, we are very happy to be able to count on Aragón TV as partners: they are an excellent travel partner, whom we have been working with for years and we always knew that this programme was a perfect fit for them in their TV programming.”
Alberto del Pozo, the director of Programmes and Content at Aragón TV, adds, “For Aragón TV, Sopa de letras is the big wager for the 24/25 season. We saw the format and fell in love with its set, its spectacularity, and its workings. Furthermore, we have total confidence in Miki Nadal as a master of ceremonies, who brings a friendly and funny tone. We believe it is the ideal content for Aragonese people to enjoy playing and learning.”
KI has most recently licensed Tuesday’s Child’s feel-good play along, singalong family format The Hit List to Madrid-based Topanga Crea, which was commissioned by Televisión Canaria to co-produce 26×60’ episodes with Canarian production company Doble Diez. To date, The Hit List Canaries has proved particularly popular with Tele Canaria’s younger viewers, exceeding the channel’s average daily and monthly share. This adaptation is consistently securing second position as Tele Canaria’s most-watched non-news program of the day, beaten only by reality show Supervivientes.
