BBC Studios & Nippon TV in Co-Development Pact

BBC Studios and Nippon TV have aligned to co-develop a new comedy game-show format, Koso Koso.

As part of the deal, Nippon TV will distribute the format in Asia, with BBC Studios handling the rest of the world. It officially launches to global buyers at the BBC Studios Showcase in February 2024.

Koso Koso is the result of a co-development partnership between the two companies and the Asia-based content incubator Empire of Arkadia (EOA), which is led by Fotini Paraskakis. In it, secret agents prank unsuspecting contestants to win them a cash prize. Nippon TV aired the pilot this summer and secured a share of almost 25 percent among viewers 13 to 49.

Suzy Lamb, managing director of BBC Studios Entertainment productions, said: “We’ve really enjoyed working with the development team at Nippon TV on what has been an exciting creative process. Bringing together the experience and ideas from us in BBC Studios and Nippon TV has been hugely beneficial. Together, we have created a format which may not have happened in isolation; it’s a real coming together of U.K. and Japanese creativity to create a format that will have wide appeal.”

Tom Miyauchi, head of formats, content business and distribution at Nippon TV, said: “Our partnership with BBC Studios and Empire of Arkadia will spearhead both creatives and distribution across vast territories in both east and west, as reputably covered by each party. Koso Koso celebrates both hilarious comedic elements with strong reality aspects as garnered by producers from both ends of the world for a global audience.”

Fotini Paraskakis, founder of EOA, said: “Our aim is to leverage creative gaps in the highly competitive unscripted market by creating a format based on known international structures with the addition of fresh Japanese creative twists. We are truly thrilled with this achievement. It’s been an amazing, incredible journey to see how two powerful and very culturally different platforms have come together, with our support, to create something unique that really addresses content demands today.”

Emma Hardie, commercial director of international production and formats at BBC Studios, said, “We are delighted to collaborate with partners from around the world to share expertise and co-develop new, exciting and original ideas to bring to a global audience.”