NBCU Scores First International Commission for Dance Weight-Loss Show

LONDON: The NBC Universal dancing and weight-loss competition format Dance Your Ass Off has received its first international commission, with TV2 of Denmark signing on for ten hour-long episodes.

The series will air from starting this Wednesday on TV2 in a prime-time slot. Dance Your Ass Off was recently renewed for a second season by Oxygen in the U.S., after its first season averaged more than 1 million total viewers, making it the most-watched freshman series in the network’s history.

NBCU sales director Charlotte Raben commented: "As a format, DYAO is a pure joy. Contestants are literally transformed as they dance their way through the series to fitness and increased self esteem."

The head of acquisitions and formats at TV2, Anette Romer, added: “Excitement is one of TV2’s corporate values and Dance Your Ass Off fits it like a hand fits a glove. Obesity is a cause of great concern but confronting it through the excitement of dance is the modern way. We will take care to present the participants as role models rather than as victims, and we will fully enjoy their performances and take the weight loss as a bonus.”

Additionally, Yvonne Pilkington, the VP of international formats for NBC Universal, announced that Zodiak in Belgium, Poland and the Netherlands have acquired local production rights to the format of Dance Your Ass Off, along with Mediaset in Italy, Granada in Germany and South Africa and Fremantle in Spain. Another Scandinavian commission as well as five more option deals are expected to be announced shortly.