NHK’s Chiko’s Challenge Set for Spanish Version

Lineup Industries has secured a deal with Mediacrest to produce 60 episodes of NHK’s co-viewing format Chiko’s Challenge for the Spanish public broadcaster TVE.

Chiko’s Challenge, which will air under the local title Mapi in Spain, challenges celebrities with child-like questions that are often surprisingly difficult to answer. The quizmaster is an “eternal 5-year-old” character named Chiko, who is half CGI and half live actor and voiced by a famous comedian.

Flimsy answers to the questions result in Chiko having a tantrum before an expert reveals the true answer with a humorous demonstration or experiment. The show has aired 162 episodes in Japan since its launch in 2018.

Ed Louwerse, founder of Lineup Industries, said: “Chiko’s Challenge is a family quiz show but it’s totally unique. With the increasing demand for lighter entertainment and a continuing move towards co-viewing, this show provides fun and entertainment for the whole family.”

Ana María Bordas, TVE’s head of originals, added: “Chiko’s Challenge or Mapi, as we will call it in Spain, is a format that is aimed at a wide and varied audience. RTVE has decided to bet on this humor contest for being visually and technologically innovative in which the protagonist is a girl whose image is created by CGI. RTVE is committed to introducing new formats and in this case, we are very pleased to share this experience created and tested by Japanese public TV NHK.”

Koji Matsumoto, president and CEO of NHK Enterprises, said: “We are tremendously excited to see Chiko, who is beloved by viewers of all ages in Japan, will be traveling outside her home country and be transformed into Mapi in Spain! This is NHK’s first entertainment format to be localized overseas, and we are very grateful to Lineup Industries, Media Crest and TVE for partnering with us to make this happen. We look forward to developing the program with them and sincerely hope that Mapi will become a household name in Spain just like Chiko at home.”

Francisco Pou, CEO of Mediacrest, said: “Chiko’s Challenge, (Mapi in Spain) is a diamond that we are delighted to produce for TVE; it’s a fantastic program that fits perfectly with Mediacrest’s philosophy and that will delight the Spanish public.”