Classic U.S. Game Shows to Get Middle Eastern Treatment

LONDON/DUBAI: Production is to start on Middle Eastern versions of the hit game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, following Sony Pictures Television’s SPT Arabia securing its first non-scripted format deals in the region.

SPT Arabia will produce 240 half-hour episodes of Wheel of Fortune for Hayat TV in Egypt. The original series produced in the U.S. has been the number one syndicated game show there for 29 years. SPT Arabia will also produce 20 one-hour episodes of Jeopardy! in Lebanon for Pan Arab Satcaster MBC Group, broadcasting it on the family entertainment channel MBC1.

SPT Arabia is working with the show’s executive producer, Harry Friedman. CBS Studios International distributes the U.S. versions of both game shows, as well as the format rights, around the globe. SPT Arabia made its first scripted format deals in July, producing and licensing local episodes of the comedy format Everybody Loves Raymond to Dream TV in Egypt, Murr Television in Lebanon and Saudi Arabian IPTV service, Intigral.

Ziad Kebbi, the president of SPT Arabia, said, “Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! are two of the world’s most iconic game shows, so it’s very exciting to offer Middle East broadcasters and audiences their own versions. This expansion into non-scripted programs is an important step in SPT Arabia’s growth strategy as we increase our production footprint in the region.”