Launching on October 1at, the event will be a month-long showcase of the latest developments and news around Sony Pictures Television’s global formats business, featuring new titles and long-time brands, all adapted to Covid-19 production conditions.
Sony Pictures Television (SPT) announced Virtual October Formats Fest, a month-long showcase of the latest developments and news around SPT’s global Formats business, launching on October 1st.
Following a hugely successful virtual LA Screenings Portal launched in May 2020 which saw SPT connect with over 1500 clients in markets across the globe, we are once again reaching out to connect directly, through Zoom and eCinema, for personalised pitches and presentations of our 2020 formats slate.
The expanded slate will feature titles from the Satisfaction Group for the first time, following SPT’s joint venture with the French entertainment powerhouse launched in July 2020. This will include the hugely ambitious zombie-themed adventure-entertainment gameshow District Z which was developed as a co-production between Satisfaction and TF1, and is being lined up as the French broadcaster’s next major hit.
Other Satisfaction shows on the slate include multi-season titles in the popular The Villa franchise (The Villa of Broken Hearts and Battle Of The Couples); as well as celebrity fish-out-of-water comedy format The Tourists.
SPT will also for the first time be presenting the exciting format Time Is Money which it has acquired the global format rights to. Previously produced by TBS in Japan as 26 Hours, the ingenious format sees celebrities and contestants performing an array of “life-hacks” that could gain you an extra 2 hours in every day. The rebooted format will be developed for Germany by Sony Pictures Television Germany, and the UK by East Media, part of The Whisper Group, which SPT acquired in February 2020.
The festival will also highlight how SPT has adapted popular classic formats to COVID-19 production conditions in key territories such as the USA and UK as well as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: A La Maison in France, and Dragons’ Den return to production in multiple territories including Germany and the USA under strict social distancing protocols; as well as a brand new format which has been developed to be produced in accordance with lockdown protocols – Celebrity Snoop Dogs for Channel 4 in the UK (titled Celebrity Snoop Pets for the international market).
The full festival slate includes scripted and unscripted titles, including: Call That Hard Work, Raid The Cage, Here Come The Girls, and Pretty and Single, which is currently airing a second season in Holland for NPO3 and is in production in Finland for YLE Arena.
Sarah Edwards, SVP International Creative Development, Sony Pictures Television, says: “We’re excited to launch our Virtual October Formats Festival with this slate full of exciting new titles and fresh twists on some of our most popular heritage brands. Following the success we experienced with our LA Screenings Portal earlier in the year, we have an acute understanding of the potential and the benefits available through virtual platforms.”
“It’s hard to say anything is ‘business as usual’ in this unprecedented year, but SPT’s global formats business has met the challenges and explored the opportunities presented by the impact of COVID-19. From District Z to Celebrity Snoop Dogs, and Call That Hard Work to Time Is Money, this is a slate with broad appeal that will really connect with global audiences, and we can’t wait to present it to clients and partners around the world through the month of October.”
