Television

FremantleMedia licenses new game show format to Paraguay & Egypt b'casters

MUMBAI: FremantleMedia’s brand new family friendly game show format Cash or Splash has launched in Cannes with two international versions of the show already under its belt: the first to Paraguay’s Telefuturo and the second to Egypt’s MBC Masr.

An amalgamation of the hit Fuji TV formats Clock Hanger, Boxing Glove, and Run Quiz Run, the format sees teams of contestants compete for cash prizes by answering questions and completing hilarious physical challenges in order to avoid being sent for a plunge into an icy pool of water.

The news reflects an increasing appetite for game and studio shows that have a strong comedic element, and follows recent international successes for other FremantleMedia titles like Thank God You’re Here, Through the Keyhole and Total Blackout. The trend suggests that laughter may not just be good for the soul, but good for the format business too.

Thank God You’re Here, which tests celebrities improvisational skills by throwing them into an unknown situation which they must ad-lib their way through, aired for the first time in Turkey (TRT), Vietnam (VTV3) and Finland (MTV3), where the show became an instant hit rating number one in its timeslot among 15-24s and +97 per cent above the slot average for the same age group.

Through the Keyhole, which sees the show’s host let loose to rummage around three mystery celebrity houses giving comic clues to an all-star panel who then has to guess which famous face lives there, launched as the UK’s highest rated new entertainment show among adults 16-34 in 2013. The Belgian version’s first run on VTM earlier this year, established a similar record as it became Belgium’s highest rated entertainment launch of the past 12 months.

Total Black Out, already in 17 territories worldwide, extended its international footprint to two further markets in the few months; Brazil (Bandeirantes) and France (W9). In France the show, in which six people struggle over a series of knock-out rounds to compete to survive outrageous challenges in complete darkness, outperformed the broadcaster across all key demographics (including the lucrative 15-34 year old demo, where it performed +86 per cent above average).

Even long-established formats such as Family Feud are benefitting from the trend. In the US, where the show has been running since 1976, the series, which is now fronted by comedian Steve Harvey, reached a new high in January 2015, attaining an average Household rating of 7.2 - the show’s highest performance for over 20 years. In Australia, it regularly ranks as the No.1 show in its time slot for young adults and in the UK S11 launched to an audience of 5.4 million viewers outperforming the S10 launch by +37 per cent.

“Laughter is a global currency and the fact that these shows all extended their global footprint and performed so well in these new markets is proof that comedy in a Gameshow or Studio show is a winning formula, no matter where in the world they go. While these shows have always been about fun, today’s clever casting and scripting, which aims to maximize comedic value while still staying true to the principals of the core show, are attracting new viewers, particularly in the sought-after younger demo. That’s got to be great news for broadcasters,” said FremantleMedia director of global production Chris O’Dell.