Keshet International has sold the relationship-based reality’s format production rights to Discovery Group in Spain and the Netherlands, along with multiple other tape and format sales in several international territories.
Keshet International (KI) has completed more tape and format sales for Singletown, ITV2’s primetime stripped relationship-based reality series originally produced by Keshet Productions.
Following its recent pick-up by HBO Max, DPG Media (Belgium) and TV4 (Sweden), the 15×60’ series has also been sold by KI to Discovery EMEA in several markets in a multi-territory deal, alongside MTV in Finland, RTL Passion in Germany, Now TV in Hong Kong, and hoopla digital, the streaming service available in the US, Canada and Australia.
In addition to picking up the original British series, TV4 in Sweden and several markets in Discovery EMEA have also acquired both the 16×43’ Danish and 18×43’ Norwegian adaptations produced locally in Copenhagen and Oslo last summer by Banijay Nordic’s Nordisk Film TV for discovery+.
Following the success of Singletown Denmark on discovery+, KI also licensed Banijay Nordic the production rights to a 8×15’ spin-off series which follows its couples after they left Singletown, alongside a re-order for a second series of Singletown Denmark. Produced by Metronome Denmark (part of Banijay Nordic), filming is slated for the summer ahead of a premiere later on in the year on discovery+.
Pil Gundelach Brandstrup, VP Content and Programming, Discovery Networks Denmark, comments, “Singletown brings something new and refreshing to the reality genre, and in Denmark the program has been a great digital success on discovery+. We have seen many reality shows where it is about finding love, but in Singletown the focus has moved to what comes after the great infatuation. It is basically a love experiment which takes a deep dive into relationships in the process where they seek clarification of the love to each other and whether to continue as a couple or separately.”
KI has also sold the format production rights to Discovery Group in the Netherlands and Spain, with Banijay Nordic extending options in multiple territories, while Banijay Italy has also acquired production rights to the series for Italy.
Rose Hughes, KI’s VP of Sales, says,“Singletown continues to show itself to be the perfect format to bridge the gap between full lockdown and normality, because it’s a quick turnaround primetime format that is both flexible and scaleable, and can be produced locally with no need for international travel. Plus, because Singletown is all about real relationships, it’s relatable escapist entertainment with a purpose, and that really appeals to younger audiences.”
Originally produced by Keshet Productions for ITV2, Singletown begins with a unique ending as five couples press pause on their relationships and spend one incredible summer living their best single lives in the city. The newly separated couples and their four new flatmates move into two luxury Singletown apartments and embark an indulgent summer full of money-can’t-buy exclusive dates, out of this world parties and unforgettable experiences. At the end of each week, the couples meet to take apart in the Love Locket ceremony. Will they choose to reunite and leave the show as a couple or will one, or both of them, choose to stay single and remain in Singletown?
Singletown debuted strongly in the UK, with the first episode performing well against E4’s S18 launch of Made In Chelsea in the 16-34 target demographic, beating it on the night in a head-to-head battle. The episode went on to achieve a strong consolidated viewership of 416,000 individuals. Across the whole 15×60’ series, which was stripped weeknights at 9pm on ITV2 from 2 September 2019, 43% of viewers were 16-34 year olds. On social, Singletown built followers on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, with the first episode trending ahead of Made In Chelsea on Twitter.
Keshet International is distributing the finished tape and format for Singletown, with talks on-going with various buyers around the world for both.
