ALL3MEDIA Lands Deals for Dutch Formats

LONDON: ALL3MEDIA International has signed the first options for entertainment formats from its recently launched sister company White Smoke Media, including deals for Family Connections and Just Another Week at the Office.

The game-show format Family Connections has been optioned by Studio Lambert for production in the U.K. and U.S., while Endemol signed on for production in Italy and France and IDTV Deutschland for Germany. In Family Connections, a celebrity panel is faced with the task of assessing three real living rooms and three real families, but the families are all mixed up. They have to work out who is really related to whom, and get everyone back in their rightful home.

IDTV in Germany optioned Just Another Week at the Office, the format that gives employees a turn at tormenting the boss. If they complete the series of pranks in this candid-camera show, they win treats and cash prizes for the whole team.

White Smoke Media was formed in 2008 by Patrick Scholtze and Etienne de Jong, part of the creative team behind mega hits such as Big Brother and Deal or No Deal. The company is based in Holland.

Stephanie Hartog, the executive VP of international formats for ALL3MEDIA International, commented: "Patrick and Etienne are bringing their expertise and zeal together to create a hot house of ideas for fresh new entertainment programming with global appeal and that magic touch."

Scholtze added: "As the youngest member of the ALL3MEDIA family, we’re very excited to have already closed the first option deals. Our collaboration with ALL3MEDIA is clearly effective; the professional creative contact with the other producers within the group is definitely paying off. And, together we’re anticipating announcing a couple of new deals during the MIP coming up in a few weeks, where we will be presenting a slate of new and remarkable concepts. In our home base tThe Netherlands we’re close to commissions on some of our formats as well."