Singing Bee, a shiny-floor music competition format that originally aired on NBC in the US, is to be produced for a Middle Eastern audience.
Lebanon-based Future TV, which broadcasts across the Middle East, is to make its own 30x60' version of the format which has previously sold to 32 different global territories.
The programme was originally devised by producer Phil Gurin at The Gurin Company and has aired on ITV1 in the UK, across Europe and on Nine Network in Australia. The latest international deal has been sealed by distributor DRG.
Andrea Jackson, MD of acquisitions at DRG, told C21: “It’s a really big order and the first tape looks absolutely brilliant. To see the Middle Eastern version and how they’ve added their nuances and culture is brilliant. We’re hoping this version could open up some more markets still.
“All the channels that we work with are asking us for shiny floor, it’s an area DRG are investing heavily in. These are the formats we’re most eager to find.”
Singing Bee challenges contestants to remember the exact lyrics of songs and sing them accurately in front of a live studio audience, with a big cash prize available at the end of the final round.
Phil Gurin told C21: “It’s been around a while, with DRG’s good work and efforts it’s on its way to becoming a classic music game show that can become our generation’s Name That Tune.
“We’re an independent company, we’re not one of the big guys, so it’s good to see these things survive. We’ve got a bunch of formats we’re working on and absolutely shiny floor still works if it’s done right.”
Another Gurin format Oh Sit – a giant studio-based game of musical chairs – recently debuted on The CW network and will be distributed internationally by Warner Bros at Mipcom in October.
Clive Whittingham, C21 21.09.12
http://www.c21media.net/archives/88407