Media Ranch Racks Up Format Deals in Europe & Canada

A number of formats have been sold by Media Ranch into Europe and Canada, including several from the portfolio of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR).

The experimental-reality format 180 Days, which sees students live with senior citizens for six months, sold into the Netherlands, Germany and Spain. The show originally aired on DR2, and season two will air in the fall on DR1. Manipulator, which explores how easily humans are manipulated, sold into France and Spain, with DR producing the second season of the show, which is slated to air in the fall on DR1.

Still Standing, an adaptation of DR’s Comedy on the Edge and one of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) most-watched shows, will return to CBC this fall for season five, with season six set for 2020. The French-Canadian version, Comedie à la Carte, was also renewed by Bell Media’s Z Channel for season three. Comedy on the Edge airs in Denmark, Portugal, Spain and is optioned in Italy, France, and the U.S. as well.

Project Rembrandt, an amateur artist-competition format, has been sold into Belgium. France’s Deeply Superficial has acquired the celebrity hidden-camera series Surprise Surprise, which aired in Canada on TVA, TQS and Société Radio-Canada for several years. The series now airs in ten countries total.

Thierry Lachkar, founder and CEO of Deeply Superficial, said: “Deeply Superficial is extremely pleased that we won the strong bidding war for the hilarious format Surprise Surprise. It gives us joy to bring back this classic hit to France, especially with the 30th anniversary of the first French broadcast coming up this Fall. Media Ranch has a gold mine on their hands with this show. Now Deeply Superficial looks forward to producing the show and entertaining French families for years to come!”

Sophie Ferron, president and executive producer of Media Ranch, which sold the shows, stated: “Media Ranch’s recent success is quite exciting, including several format sales from the DR catalog, proving without a doubt that this great content is worth sharing! We are also thrilled with the French license deal for our beloved format, Surprise Surprise which has such major interest from around the world. We look forward to collaborating with the brilliant Thierry Lachlar and are confident he will bring Surprise Surprise to French TV soon!”