Case Study: Armoza Formats’ Still Standing

Among the programs set to launch on NBC this summer is the game show Still Standing, which was given a straight-to-series order by the U.S. network in a deal with Armoza Formats. This pickup was an important one for the Israeli outfit, CEO Avi Armoza tells TV Formats Weekly, as it promptly placed the show in the international spotlight. "The U.S. commission was the best news we could have received heading into our international format launch," says Armoza. "The announcement catapulted the format—which was already heading toward a very strong release based on the strength of the premise and the incredible local success in Israel—to ‘must-have’ status. There wasn’t anyone who arrived at our MIPTV stand who wasn’t aware of the deal, which was great for marketing the show."

The prime-time game-show format offers contestants the chance to win $1 million by out-guessing ten opponents in ten fast-paced trivia battles. As the clock counts down, contestants compete to be the last one still standing; if they’re left scrambling for the answer, they’ll literally be dropped from the game—down through the studio floor.

Armoza says the format originated from the seeds of two ideas. The first is that most standard game shows feature a maximum of seven to ten trivia questions per hour, and this show was to beef that up. "We wanted to do a show that piled in as many trivia questions as possible into that hour, giving both the player and the viewer the chance to show off their knowledge," Armoza explains. "In Still Standing, there are seven to eight questions asked, on average, during each trivia battle, with over 100 questions asked in some episodes."

The other idea, Armoza continues, was that the strongest part of a game show is typically the head-to-head battle between contestants, so why not give viewers more of that. "In Still Standing, we created a game show that is nothing but head-to-head battles, where one contestant fights another in a test of knowledge, and the loser, of course, is knocked out of the game and off of their feet when the trap doors open up below."

The original game show, created by July-August Productions, was very different from what the show is now, Armoza explains. "Through a year-and-a-half dialogue with broadcaster Channel 10, much was changed—from the shape of the set, to the style of the trivia battles, to the lifelines."

He continues, "The format went through dozens of permutations in Israel during its development process to arrive at its most successful incarnation, so there isn’t any hurry to really tweak or alter the format. We have had a few countries interested in producing a shortened, daily version that would air in a half-hour slot. That, however, is more a matter of limiting game play to one player per episode (than the usual two players per episode), rather than altering the structure of the format itself."

The international take-up for Still Standing has been quite quick, Armoza explains. "The Israeli series launched in December 2010 in prime time on Channel 10, and in the six months following, we have closed about a dozen deals, led by NBC’s straight-to-series order." He continues, "NBC will launch the American adaptation of the format—thus far commissioned for eight episodes—this summer, and have already begun preproduction: casting, building the set, etc. A full production schedule is in place."

Armoza says of the rollout strategy, "When NBC commissioned the show, we agreed to a joint international rollout with NBCUnivesal. Together we’ve taken on the format’s international marketing and sales, as the production team at NBC readies the format for its U.S. debut."

Armoza believes the momentum of Still Standing‘s strong international launch means there’s still many commissions to come. "We expect more deals to close after the format launches Stateside, and will continue to roll it out across territories around the world."

To watch a clip of Still Standing, click here.