MIPTV to Celebrate 50 Shows that Shaped TV History

PARIS: Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of MIPTV, The WIT (World Information Tracking) has selected the top 50 emblematic TV shows that have shaped the television landscape over the past half-century.

Among the shows mentioned are, from the 1960s, the Japanese anime Astro Boy, the quiz show Jeopardy, the cult hit Star Trek and Aktenzeichen XY Ungelöst, from Germany’s ZDF, which is regarded as the world’s first reality crime-solving format. From the 1970s, shows being celebrated include ITV’s Coronation Street, the stripped daytime game show The Price is Right and the daily soap The Young & The Restless. Additional series highlights from the ’80s, ’90s, 2000s and recent hits from the 2010s will be unveiled shortly on MIPTV’s 50th anniversary Facebook App and mini-site.

“For this anniversary year at MIPTV, The WIT’s Top 50 Series selection is a joyful way of celebrating 50 years of international television,” commented Laurine Garaude, the director of Reed MIDEM’s television division. “These great programs remind us all of memorable TV moments, as visitors can watch exclusive extracts of the shows, comment on the selection and share emotional memories. Every year for the past five decades at MIPTV, we have seen successful shows being launched internationally, in the process reaching out to global audiences and shaping television of tomorrow.”

“To celebrate 50 years of MIPTV, we chose to select 50 emblematic shows, one for each year, starting from 1963 until today,” added Virginia Mouseler, CEO of The WIT. “Our aim was to reflect the internationalization of the television industry over time: featuring shows from the USA of course, but also from Latin America, Asia, Europe… The ultimate selection criteria being emotions and memories created by these TV moments.”