FME to Offer Oprah’s Big Give to International Buyers

LONDON, March 18:
FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) will offer Harpo Productions’ Oprah’s Big
Give to international broadcasters
at MIPTV, with FremantleMedia’s Worldwide Entertainment team representing the
format rights.

The 8×1-hour series is
already setting records in the U.S., where it airs on ABC, and its series
premiere was the top-rated show on all U.S. television for the night. Oprah’s
Big Give takes a diverse group of
ten people and gives them the challenge of a lifetime—to change the lives
of complete strangers. During the eight-week competition, the contestants trek
across the U.S., giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars to unsuspecting
people who are in for the surprise of their lives. Oprah Winfrey makes multiple
special appearances, along side some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Oprah’s Big Give is produced by Harpo Productions in conjunction
with Profiles Television Productions. Winfrey serves as an executive producer,
alongside Ellen Rakieten and Harriet Seitler for Harpo Productions and Bertram van Munster and
Elise Doganieri—the creators and producers of the five-time Emmy
Award-winning series The Amazing Race–for Profiles Television Productions.

Winfrey commented: “The
show is fun, entertaining and powerful television with a real heart. The
audience will just love the heart of this show.”

FME’s CEO, David Ellender, added, “Oprah’s
Big Give is just the sort of show
we seek out. It radiates originality, has huge stars and has already captivated
the U.S. audience from the outset. We are delighted be to working with Oprah’s
team at Harpo and are very pleased to offer this show to our clients at MIPTV.”

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski