Case Study: Exit

NEW YORK: Fredrik af Malmborg, the managing director of Eccho Rights, talks to World Screen Newsflash about Exit, a game-show format that originated in Japan.

Originally produced by Kenichiro Akiyama, Exit began as a one-hour prime-time program titled Dero! on Japan’s Nippon Television Network (NTV). The game-show format is now distributed around the globe by Eccho Rights.

“We immediately spotted Exit as a potential worldwide hit since it is so original and clear as a format,” says Fredrik af Malmborg, the managing director of Eccho Rights. “The original Japanese version aired for several seasons and a spin-off is still on air. The Japanese version has always scored solid ratings in the weekly [slot]. NTV has also made event specials on a quarterly basis and those shows have [performed] even better.”

Exit features five to seven contestants who are divided up to compete in a three-stage room-escape challenge. Each level is set in a different locked room with such traps as rising waters, shrinking platforms above an abyss, shifting sand and walls that are closing in. In order to escape in time and win a cash prize, participants must do well on a range of quizzes and puzzles while working both individually and as a team.

“Exit is a fresh, fun, physical game show that viewers immediately remember, as it is based on classic fears that we all share,” says af Malmborg. “Most game shows attract mainly an older audience but Exit is strong in younger demographics as well.”

In early June a six-episode version of the format premiered with high ratings on Syfy in the U.S. The local treatment is produced by Smart Dog Media in collaboration with Zig Zag Productions and is presented by Curt Doussett (America’s Lost Treasures, Hazard Pay). In it, four teams of two contestants play for the chance to win $10,000.

"The U.S. adaptation of Exit is, of course, important and Syfy has done a good job with the format," says af Malmborg. "The adaptation is true to the original Japanese version with some competitive elements added." He adds, "The success in the U.S. is a good [example] that the format works outside of Japan."

Exit is also being adapted in several other countries, including by MME Entertainment (a subsidiary of ALL3MEDIA) in Germany, France’s Elephant Group, Russia’s Channel Peretz, Sweden’s OTW and Denmark’s Mastiff.

Eccho Rights has also sold the finished series in a few countries, but “the real value is, of course, local versions with local contestants,” says af Malmborg. “Exit is a really strong local format that we plan to produce in central hubs in different places around the world.”

Of the plans for Exit going forward, af Malmborg says, “We are working intensively on the first version in Europe and it would be natural to share the set between several countries.”

For a producer looking to adapt Exit, af Malmborg says he would caution them not to stray too far from the Japanese original. “We believe strongly in the original version of the formats that we represent. There are, of course, reasons why the original version was successful. We think there is a tendency to exaggerate the differences between viewers in different countries. NTV in Japan has done a great job in developing Exit over several seasons in different versions. Their experience is not to be underestimated. It is a natural reaction for a local producer to always try to ‘re-invent the wheel’ but there are so many mistakes when the local producer hasn’t understood the original format resulting in a less successful local version.”