Media Ranch Selects Horsepower 2.0 Finalists

Media Ranch has chosen the eight candidates to participate in Horsepower 2.0, its French-Canadian format incubation project.

Over 80 applications were received by Media Ranch and Quebecor Content, partners in the initiative. The Horsepower 2.0 candidates are Marianne Mercier-Lacombe, Widmayer Edouard, Amélie Tintin, Isabelle LaPerrière, Alexandre Perras, Gisèle Palancz, Justine Salette and David Bourgeois.

The incubation process will begin in January with six months of workshopping, with the goal to create eight fresh formats for broadcast and distribution. Media Ranch’s Phil Kalin-Hajdu, head of content and storytelling, will provide mentorship support for the project with input from the company’s Amsterdam-based senior VP, Tanja van der Goes, and Media Ranch’s founder, president and executive producer, Sophie Ferron. Top format producers from the industry will provide additional mentorship.

The winning format will receive funding from Quebecor Content to develop the concept for broadcast, and Media Ranch will manage production and global distribution. Formats created by remaining candidates may also be developed and distributed.

Ferron said: “Media Ranch is so pleased to launch our Horsepower 2.0 incubator with 8 outstanding creative individuals, who have a diverse background. From the first iteration, we found that new program ideas can be born from all walks of life and we are excited to start this journey. In six months, we expect to find some truly unique Formats. Media Ranch continues to be the go-to company for local content creators, producers, and broadcasting platforms—attracting and fostering the best talent in the world.”

“We are pleased to renew our partnership in this initiative which uniquely contributes to developing and fostering the international reach of our local creative talents,” added Yann Paquet, VP of strategy and international business for Quebecor Content.