Banijay Picks Up Two New Korean Formats

Banijay has inked a multi-territory deal with CJ ENM for the relationship format EXchange and acquired multi-territory format rights to MBC’s Bloody Game.

Launched in Korea last summer, EXchange sees young couples who have split up live together for three weeks, with some hoping to reconnect and others ready to find a new love—and no one allowed to reveal who their ex is. Through the deal, Banijay will represent the format across the Nordics, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Australia.

Every evening in EXchange, each person sends a text message to the person they’re interested in. Though it’s anonymous, it will reveal if it is from their ex or not. Mid-season, the couples and the senders of the texts are revealed. In the final episode, each single must announce who they’d like to leave the show with.

Carlotta Rossi Spencer, head of acquisitions at Banijay, said: “This relationship format has unbounded potential; it’s a truly authentic show catering to a younger audience who long for real feelings and genuine love stories. CJ ENM has created numerous engaging formats which add twists to popular tropes, and EXchange is a prime example. As past relationships are kept secret from the audience as well, the element of guessing had Korean viewers gripped, and we’re expecting a huge amount of interest in this innovative format.”

Diane Min, head of format sales at CJ ENM, said: “We are excited to work with Banijay to bring EXchange to multiple markets, one of our biggest and most successful non-scripted launches last year. This is a relatable format primarily dealing with love and relationships, which ordinary people experience throughout life’s journey. I am confident the candidness of human emotions delivered in EXchange will touch the audience’s heart across the world.”

A competition reality series, Bloody Game sees contestants live together in a secret house and face a series of challenges, with no contact from the outside world. To avoid elimination, the contestants use tactics, form alliances and engage in player-to-player conspiracies while competing in games. When evicted, they are sent to a secret room where they reside for the remainder of the game. However, if they succeed in a final chance to return upstairs for the Bloody Game, they can still hope to walk away with the prize.

The deal with MBC will see Banijay represent Bloody Game in nine countries across Europe, with the potential to be adapted in France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands. The format launched in Korea in November last year.

Rossi Spencer said: “With real prize money on the line, the stakes are high in this uncompromising new survival game, where the winner takes it all. Packed with intriguing games and reality, Bloody Game brings the much-admired creativity of recent Korean dramas to the unscripted world. It is a bold show which explores important themes. It’s always brilliant to partner with producers around the world and bring their content to the global marketplace.”

Jean Hur, director of format sales at MBC, said: “There are numerous survival formats out there, but MBC’s Bloody Game is above the rest, packed with unique twists to absorb viewers in each episode and action which unfolds beyond anything you could imagine. We hope the show will follow the global path of other Korean formats which have traveled the world.”