Sparks Network Members Secure New Deals in Europe, Asia

August 30, 2007 World Screen

STOCKHOLM, August 30: Several
members of the global format exchange organization Sparks Network have secured
new commissions and renewals throughout Europe and Asia, including Australia’s
Ambience Entertainment, whose kids’ game show Go Go Stop is currently being produced in four countries.

During this summer, both VRT in
Belgium and TG4 in Ireland started production on local versions of Go Go
Stop. TG4 has commissioned 195 episodes
over three years. Go Go Stop also
premiered in April on Jo Jo in Turkey, and the fifth season of the show is now
in production for the Seven Network in Australia.

M6 in France has commissioned
the adventure reality format Peking Express,
from Kanakna Production in Belgium, for
a third season. The fifth season of the format is launching in Belgium and
Holland this fall. And the SBS channels in Sweden, Norway and Denmark are
launching the first season of Peking Express in September.

Spanish broadcaster TVE has
launched the local adaptation of the daily game show format Clueless from ATM Grupa. TVE has extended its original
15-episode commission to a 60-episode run. The game show has also been licensed
to Mega Channel in Greece, which concluded the 200th episode of the show in
July with good ratings, and to Polsat in Poland, who is on the 600th episode of
the show.

Italian member Triangle
Productions has licensed its current-affairs game show format Hazard, which originally aired on Rai and Mediaset,
to Turkish pubcaster TRT. Three seasons of the
format have been produced for Italy and a second season of the format has been
commissioned by La Sexta in Spain. There are also more than 500 episodes in
France.

Rounding up the latest deals
for Sparks members is the renewal of SVT’s kids’ game show Amigo for a second season of 52 episodes in Vietnam on Ho
Chi Minh City Television. The first season of 52 episodes was broadcast weekly
last year in Vietnam. Amigo has
been on the air for three seasons in separate local versions in Sweden, Denmark
and Norway.