Zodiak Scores Italian Deal

COPENHAGEN, September 7: Zodiak Television World has inked its
first European deal outside of Scandinavia for the Nordisk Film format Wild
West, with Grundy Italia developing a local
version for RAIDUE.

The show turns ordinary people into cowboys in Arizona.
RAIDUE will air one two-hour episode per week in a prime-time slot. The show
will also be stripped daily in 25-minute episodes over a 10-week period,
beginning September 17.

“Wild West is a key
flagship for RAIDUE’s forthcoming autumn schedule, and is a major investment
for RAI as this will be the first reality show ever broadcast on a RAI channel
consisting of normal people instead of celebrities,” said Roberto Sessa, the
managing director of Grundy Italia. “We are very excited about producing this
show and hope it will mark a new era in reality shows on Italian television.”

Heather Stevenson, the president of Zodiak Television World,
added, “Having a property commissioned by RAI is always fantastic, but to us
the deal also cements the increased sales foothold we have achieved in Italy.
The Zodiak catalogue can easily be adapted to Italian audience’s needs, which
gives us high hopes and expectations for the future and for the rest of
Southern Europe, where a similar increase in sales is being reported.”