Sparks Takes On Swiss Format

STOCKHOLM: Sparks Network has inked a deal with Swiss broadcaster SF to represent the format rights to Country Women Cooking.

The show is currently in its third season in Switzerland and has been adapted into three different versions in Germany. The format focuses on seven women from different farms around the country, one from each region. Each woman invites the others for a Saturday night dinner in their own country farm home. Sparks bills the show as a "dinner competition wrapped in a colorful lifestyle documentary about the life on a farm." 

Fredrik af Malmborg, the managing director or Sparks Network, noted: "Country Women Cooking is a different television program that is scoring very good ratings against strong competition. A genuine and straight-to-the-Earth format with worldwide hit potential."

On SF in its Friday 8 p.m. slot the show is scoring a 41.2 percent average share, and has spawned a successful cook book. It has been formatted in Germany by ARD affiliates WDR, BR and NDR and has been optioned in several other countries.