Target Continues to Notch Up Deals for Dating Format

LONDON: Loveland, a dating format with a 21st-century twist, has secured five more option deals through Target Entertainment Group.

Nine Network in Australia, DM Productions in the Netherlands, Rochstar in Poland, Stefi Productions in Greece and Endemol in Italy have all optioned the rights to the format. Endemol already has the option rights for France in a deal concluded earlier this year.

Loveland, developed by U.K. production outfit Standing Stone, is a studio-based format that allows contestants to use virtual real-time animation to create an alter-ego. The contestants go on dates as their computer-generated animated characters, while the audiences watches. The show concludes with the contestant picking the character they would most like to meet in person for a real date.

Jane Dockery, the director of sales and programming at Target Entertainment Group, said: “Buyers have been responding brilliantly to this modern-day dating show format with a twist. It’s the perfect feel good format with something new to offer in the form of the avatars and ground-breaking technology.”