Fremantle Scores More Sales for The Piano

Fremantle has signed new sales deals in the Netherlands and Denmark for the musical reality format The Piano.

The format, which debuted on Channel 4 in the U.K. and became the channel’s best-rated new format launch, invites amateur pianists to play in public, where, unbeknownst to them, two superstar judges are watching to select one person per episode to play on one of the world’s most prestigious stages. RTL 4 in the Netherlands and TV 2 in Denmark have optioned the format.

The U.K. version saw four finalists selected to perform at The Royal Festival Hall in London, in front of an audience of thousands. The ultimate winner went on to play to a crowd of 20,000 and a huge TV audience as part of King Charles’ coronation concert at Windsor Castle.

The Piano was created by Richard McKerrow and comes from the makers of The Great British Bake Off, Love Productions. Fremantle holds the international rights outside of North America.

“The Piano is one of the most authentic reality shows in the market right now, taking the talent search genre out of the studio and into a completely new direction,” said Andrew Llinares, director of global entertainment at Fremantle. “We’re delighted to announce our first round of sales for this very special original format. It’s so exciting to witness ordinary people from all walks of life perform flawlessly amongst the public, without knowing they’re in a competition. We can’t wait to continue the success of The Piano internationally with RTL 4 in the Netherlands and TV 2 in Denmark.”