Hit Format from ZDF to Air on ABC

MAINZ, March 19: ABC has acquired the format rights to the
long-running format Wanna Bet? (Wetten,
dass…?) from Germany’s ZDF, with Phil Gurin
set to develop the U.S. version and the U.K.’s Ant and Dec signing on to host.

A pilot is scheduled for broadcast in the U.S. within the
next three months, ZDF Enterprises announced today. The U.S. version is planned
as a weekly, one-hour, prime-time event that gives four celebrity contestants
the chance to earn big money for their charities by betting on some of the
wildest stunts, tricks and mental challenges that ordinary people can dream up.
Contestants then bet on whether they think the person can pull off their
incredible claim.

Since its first broadcast in February 1981, Wanna Bet? has become one of the most successful Saturday
evening shows in Europe. In Germany, Wetten, dass…? has been consistently ranked number-one, achieving
an average market share of 46 percent on Saturday evenings and up to 16 million
viewers. It is hosted by Thomas Gottschalk, and has featured an array of
international superstars from the areas of music, sport, film and television.
Format deals have previously been clinched in the Netherlands, the U.K.,
Poland, Russia and China, among other markets.

Alexander Coridass, the president and CEO of ZDF
Enterprises, noted: "The licensing contract with the U.S. has opened the
doors to this hit show in the English-language territories."