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Scripted Formats Game Shows NBC’s Paul Telegdy Sony’s Andrea Wong www.tvformats.ws
MIPFORMATS & MIPTV EDITION THE MAGAZINE FOR THE FORMAT BUSINESS
APRIL 2012
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TV FORMATS
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Armoza Formats www.armozaformats.com We Believe in You
• We Believe in You • The Sky Is the Limit • Couch Diaries
Following the success of its game show Still Standing, along with veteran formats such as Upgrade and The Bubble, Armoza Formats is launching two new game shows: We Believe in You, which was developed in-house and features a group of friends who nominate a representative to answer trivia questions on their behalf in order to realize a shared dream, and “the only game show to take place in an airplane, called The Sky Is the Limit, which takes viewers on a journey out of the typical studio and into the skies,” according to Avi Armoza, the company’s CEO.The series takes participants into an exotic new country, where the winners of the quiz show receive an all-expense-paid vacation to the final destination, while the losers stay on board the plane and fly back home. Another new title the company is bringing to market is the factual-entertainment series Couch Diaries, in which participants experience life in a different country from couches in people’s homes. “We’re looking forward to another successful market!” Armoza says.
“ It’s always an exciting market, during which we learn about what’s on trend for 2012 and, hopefully, set some of those trends.
”
—Avi Armoza
Banijay International www.banijayinternational.com • The All-Star Dog Show • Origins of Love • Celebrity Knockout
The new formats in the Banijay International catalogue tap into current themes, and many have already found ratings success. Banijay International’s managing director, Karoline Spodsberg, says she expects that there will be strong interest in the catalogue, generating new relationships and fresh deals. “In particular, we’re pleased to present a lot of formats which allow viewers to get a new intimate glimpse into the private world of celebrities,” Spodsberg says.The entertainment series The All-Star Dog Show, created by Brainpool, features four celebrities and their pet dogs teaming up for obedience and agility exercises, while the celebrities step into the boxing ring in Celebrity Knockout, a reality series from Monday Media. It features four celebrities who face off against ordinary members of the public in a live boxing match. Also on the company’s slate is the reality series Origins of Love from Nordisk Film TV Norway.
IN THIS ISSUE
Origins of Love
“ We are bringing a range of new formats that arrive in Cannes for the first time off the back of strong ratings for their primary broadcasters.
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—Karoline Spodsberg
Say It Again Scripted formats are in high demand
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Game On Game shows remain on broadcasters’ shopping lists
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Interviews NBC’s Paul Telegdy Sony’s Andrea Wong
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FremantleMedia www.fremantlemedia.com • Recipe to Riches • Little Goliaths • 1001 Things You Should Know
Ricardo Seguin Guise
Publisher Anna Carugati
Editor Mansha Daswani
Executive Editor Kristin Brzoznowski
Managing Editor Marissa Graziadio
Editorial Assistant Simon Weaver
Online Director
Along with FremantleMedia’s new programs, such as 1001 Things You Should Know, the company’s “heritage” game shows will be ones to watch this market, according to Trish Kinane, the president of worldwide entertainment. “We have shows that are proven, reliable ratings winners,” Kinane says. “They are classic, proven hits that look ready for a new generation....We also have some fantastic new formats on our slate, for all parts of the schedule, that viewers will love.” The company’s catalogue includes the reality competition format Recipe to Riches, which launched on Canada’s Food Network in October 2011, and the family format Little Goliaths, which features adults testing their skills against children in a range of challenges from arm wrestling to golf to spelling to speed-parking.
Recipe to Riches
“ If it’s fantastic entertainment you’re looking for, then FremantleMedia truly has something for everybody, on every scale, and for every part of the schedule as well.
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—Trish Kinane
Meredith Miller Lauren Uda
Production & Design Directors Phyllis Q. Busell
Art Director Cesar Suero
Sales & Marketing Director
Global Agency www.theglobalagency.tv
Terry Acunzo
Business Affairs Manager Vanessa Brand
Sales & Marketing Assistant
Ricardo Seguin Guise
President Anna Carugati
Executive VP & Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani
VP of Strategic Development TV Formats © 2012 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website:
www.tvformats.ws
• Let’s Play Hangman • Décor Monsters and Shopping Monsters • Rise or Fall
Shopping Monsters
Let’s Play Hangman is a fresh spin on an old favorite, bringing the game of Hangman into the studio. It is part of the diverse catalogue of content that the Istanbul-based Global Agency is highlighting at MIPTV. Décor Monsters, the sister format to the hit series Shopping Monsters, features five women competing to be home-decorating queens.Working with a limited budget and limited time to complete their decorating dreams, the women also judge each others’ final results. In Rise or Fall, a singing-talent format from Constantin Entertainment, losers disappear through a hole in the stage floor when the judges make their decisions at the end of each round. “Global Agency has become one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry in recent years and we want to continue with this aggressive growth,” says Izzet Pinto, the company’s CEO.“We want to see more of our projects in different territories. Our sales team is growing and our goal is to become the leading distributor in the market.”
“ We are eager to expand our catalogue and continue sourcing great new programming ideas that our clients can adapt in any part of the world and with every budget.
”
—Izzet Pinto
Get TV Formats Weekly— delivered to your inbox every Monday. For a free subscription, visit: www.worldscreen.com
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The Jim Henson Company www.henson.com The Possibility Shop
• The Possibility Shop
A well-known provider to kids’ networks across the globe, The Jim Henson Company is looking to appeal to a whole new set of buyers with The Possibility Shop, its first-ever format offering. The show is aimed firmly at caregivers and came out of the company’s desire to “inspire moms in particular about how they can interact with [their kids] in new ways,” says Richard Goldsmith, Henson’s executive VP of global distribution. At MIPTV, Henson will be looking to sign up partners for local versions of The Possibility Shop, primarily services aimed at women aged 25 to 55.“The way we’ve made it, with short episodes for DisneyFamily.com, it could be done the same way on a website, it could be expanded into a half-hour series, it could be integrated into an existing program as a segment.” Goldsmith highlights the wealth of materials available to broadcasters who sign up for the show. “We have all the activities done, years of experience of what we think can inspire families to be more creative with each other.” Plus, he says, there’s a repository of online content that can be made available for mothers to download.
“ The Possibility Shop inspires moms to do things that range from arts and crafts to puzzles to playing games. There’s nothing like it on television or on a digital platform.
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—Richard Goldsmith
Mediaset Distribution www.mediasetdistribution.com • You’ve Got Mail • The Anti-Talent Show • Date Me!
Mediaset Distribution has added a brand-new category to its slate, bringing unscripted formats to the market for the first time.This includes the series You’ve Got Mail, in which people express their true feelings to a lost love, sometimes with special help from international guest stars.“Our best original entertainment formats are finally here, ready to win you in the Italian TV leisure tradition,” says Patricio Teubal, the company’s head of sales. “We’re also offering a rich readymade catalogue and [continue to focus] on our scriptedformats business that has been, until now, quite a success, having closed options and adaptations in many different countries, including the U.S.” Another highlighted title is The Anti-Talent Show, which has been on air since 1986. In it, talentless people perform in front of an audience that judges their performances by applause or booing. Date Me! introduces men and women to a number of suitors as they search for their soul mates.Teubal notes that the company expects to exceed last year’s MIPTV results with sales from new unscripted formats.
The Anti-Talent Show
“For the first time Mediaset Distribution goes unscripted!” —Patricio Teubal
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NordicWorld www.nordicworld.tv Jailhouse Cook
• Jailhouse Cook • The Greatest Gift • 24 Hours: Live
With a strong format roster lined up for MIPTV, NordicWorld is spotlighting Jailhouse Cook from Koncern Film & TV, and two NICE Group properties—The Greatest Gift from Gong, and 24 Hours: Live from Monster. Jailhouse Cook follows prisoners who are coached in gourmet cooking, with the aim of opening up new opportunities for them when they get out. The Greatest Gift is a dramatic series that tells the stories of six transplant patients and their donors. 24 Hours: Live features unplanned, uncensored celebrity entertainment, in which ten celebrities are given three challenges to complete within one day and one night. “Like many of our formats, our 2012 slate is 360 degrees in that it covers the spectrum, from lighthearted entertainment to heartbreaking reality,” says Jan Salling, NordicWorld’s COO and director of sales. Last MIPCOM was record-breaking in terms of sales for the company, he notes, adding, “It seems like hubris to say we hope to top that. So I’ll settle for saying that I’ll be extremely satisfied if we match our MIPCOM performance.”
“ Nordic producers are known for their ability to achieve high production values on modest budgets— and this year’s crop of formats is no exception. We can promise you great value for your money.
”
—Jan Salling
Shine International www.shineinternational.com Battle of the Brides
• Battle of the Brides • The Date Machine • Secret Street Crew
The formats The Biggest Loser and MasterChef have traveled widely across the globe; the latter has been produced locally in 36 countries.These are just two examples of the hits Shine International has in its catalogue. “Our really superb and firmly established successes, such as MasterChef and Got to Dance, continue to grow and remain as brands our buyers must see, along with new extensions of these hit shows such as MasterChef: The Professionals,” says Camilla Hammer, the CEO of Shine International. Shine is representing The Date Machine and Battle of the Brides, both new for the market and both from Sky in the U.K. “From the co-creators of Got to Dance we have Secret Street Crew, which has already doubled Sky 1’s audience share,” Hammer says. “From Metronome and Friday TV, the creators of Minute to Win It, which is one of the world’s most successful formats, we have brand-new and original shows, including Honey You’re Getting Fat and Last Chef Standing.”
“We’re very proud to represent some of TV’s most successful global formats.” —Camilla Hammer
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Sony Pictures Television www.sonypicturestelevision.com • Who’s In Who’s Out • Breakaway • Say No to the Knife
Sony Pictures Television (SPT) recently acquired Silver River Productions, which has a catalogue that includes Say No to the Knife, a documentary series that delves into the world of cosmetic surgery and follows contributors’ emotional journeys. In addition, Sony is offering a number of strong returning formats. “We are taking several brand-new formats to the market this year,” says Ed Louwerse, the senior VP of format sales, international distribution at SPT. Who’s In Who’s Out, produced by Tuvalu Media, is an interactive series featuring talented young adults who study at a performing-arts school. Louwerse says, “It’s incredibly engaging because each week viewers decide which actor gets the part in the series, and which character will be expelled.” In Sony’s new quiz-show format Breakaway, from Gogglebox Entertainment, six strangers must use their knowledge to advance down a track toward the finish line and a pot of cash or “break away” to an adjacent track, which offers potentially greater rewards.
Who’s In Who’s Out
“ This is our first market with format sales fully integrated into SPT international distribution, so our new combined catalogue is one of the biggest in the business.
”
—Ed Louwerse
Sparks Network www.sparksnetwork.com The End
• Secret Celebrity • Exotic Love • The End
The new format Secret Celebrity, which features stars in disguise as they find out what the public really thinks about them, is available from Sparks Network. “At every MIPTV we always provide a fresh slate of new formats that are all proven and original,” says Nicola Söderlund, the president of Sparks Network. “We have some fantastic scripted formats, innovative entertainment and reality formats that have delivered great ratings where they have aired.” Also on the company’s slate is Exotic Love, a series that aired onVT4 in Belgium last fall. It explores touching stories of love. In the way of scripted, the drama series The End is about a man who leads a double life and allows his wife to believe he was killed in a plane crash. Söderlund says there is hunger for new ideas from sources other than the superindies. “This is like fresh oxygen for the new generation of independent production companies that are emerging,” Söderlund notes. “We strongly believe that creativity is breeding best within the independent community and we want to empower that creativity.”
“We are really focusing on becoming the ‘place to be’ to discover the creativity of independent producers worldwide.
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—Nicola Söderlund
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Star Media Group www.starmediafilm.com • Go Dance! • Island of the Unwanted • The Right to Meeting
The entertainment show Go Dance! recently scored a North American development deal, with MY-Tupelo Entertainment signing on to adapt the format in coproduction with producer Nigel Lythgoe.A French agreement, with Effervescence, followed shortly after.Two seasons of Go Dance! have aired in Ukraine on Inter TV, and a third is already set. “We are convinced that the presentation of Go Dance! at MIPTV 2012 will attract even greater attention to this truly international project,” says Vlad Ryashin, the CEO and producer of Star Media Group. Star Media is also offering the thriller Island of the Unwanted, a scripted format filmed in Thailand. It is about a man who arranges a shipwreck near an uninhabited island for 12 “unwanted” people, including his wife, but becomes stuck with them. In addition, the scripted reality format The Right to Meeting is a show centered on a participant’s crucial meeting with another person and includes dramatic reconstructions and documentary footage.
“ We are happy to see international interest toward Russia as a vendor of original ideas and high-quality product growing year after year.
”
—Vlad Ryashin Go Dance!
Talpa Distribution www.talpa.tv Let’s Get Married
• The Winner is… • Mad for Music • Let’s Get Married
Talpa will be introducing a record number of new formats at MIPTV, according to Maarten Meijs, the managing director of Talpa Distribution. Although still flying high around the globe with the singing competition The Voice, the company will introduce The Winner is…, the latest of its prime-time vocal-talent shows, this one featuring gameshow elements. Exceptionally talented vocalists in a range of eight different categories compete in singing duels judged by a panel of 100 music lovers headed up by one well-known music expert. Due to the diverse categories, the program features singers not seen on other talent shows, says Meijs. Other brand-new Talpa formats making their debut include Mad for Music, a fun and energetic music show with game-show elements and a high play-along factor. Then there’s Let’s Get Married, a prime-time competition in which one of two couples, with help from family and friends, get to say their vows for real each episode.They must first compete in relationship-related games, plus emotional assignments that are voted on by a neutral section of the studio audience.
“The importance of interactivity continues to increase and is now more than ever playing a key role in the creation and rollout of shows.
”
—Maarten Meijs
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Despite the challenges associated with scripted formats, they are in high demand around the world. By Juliana Koranteng
Televisa’s Sueña conmigo.
Say It
Again I
n 2010, the American TV director, producer and writer Philip Rosenthal made a Sony Pictures Entertainment theatrical documentary about the trials and tribulations of producing a local-language sitcom in Russia. Called Exporting Raymond, the film centered on the adaptation of Everybody Loves Raymond, the iconic U.S. sitcom Rosenthal created, and the challenges of remaking it for a Russian audience. The documentary, which recently aired on HBO in the U.S., demonstrated how the localization of scripted formats can be more difficult than formatting non-scripted entertainment like Pop Idol, The X Factor, Survivor, MasterChef and The Apprentice. But, experts add, when successful, scripted adaptations are certainly worth the effort. Indeed, the Russian Raymond, called The Voronins, has been a hit for CTC. “There’s value in knowing that these productions have already been successful” in their country of origin, says Jeff Lerner, the senior VP of scripted programming for international production at Sony Pictures Television (SPT), which has the international syndication rights to Everybody Loves Raymond and several other U.S. sitcoms.“And when you think of the huge effort put into the original creations by brilliant minds, it is almost a waste not to exploit them in other countries.” International broadcasters’ demand for scripted formats has started to grow, and format producers welcome the potential extra financial rewards to be gained from redoing scripted successes overseas. Lerner recalls how Egyptian broadcasters embraced Everybody Loves Raymond. “One look at the premise of a young man caught between his over-protective mother and the love of his wife—one of them said to me, ‘Raymond is a typical Egyptian man,’ ” he says. “We’re all human and respond emotionally to similar situations in similar ways.” Marion Edwards, the president of international television at Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, concedes that some formats are more intricate than others to adapt. “Some unscripted ones are very complicated and
Televisa’s Singing for a Dream. 338
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Making music: Armoza’s time-traveling Israeli series Danny Hollywood is being adapted in the U.S. for The CW.
expensive, especially if you are shooting in an exotic location. And some scripted ones, especially one-hour dramas such as Prison Break, are more complex than other types of scripted products. A format based on 24 will be much more difficult than one [based] on How I Met Your Mother.” Since the recession started, in 2008, requests for scripted formats from broadcasters have been on the rise.“There are cycles in the TV business and sometimes broadcasters need more drama,” says Avi Armoza, the CEO of Armoza Formats, which recently sold the format for the Israeli hit drama series Shall We Kiss to HBO Central Europe. “In the last two years, more of them are willing to explore the formats of scripted shows.”
lines. The buyer must appoint consultants to clarify cultural differences. Locations for outside settings might not be so easy to find in the buyer’s territory. Action adventures with car chases and explosions require a budget for stuntmen and women. Even if the original plot is replicated, new scriptwriters need to inject local idioms into the script. Donna Wiffen, FremantleMedia’s senior VP of worldwide drama, says formats’ off-screen costs can add another 30 percent to the budget of a locally made drama. Plus, according to Fox’s Edwards, the formatted version might still be expensive by the foreign country’s standards. Local original dramas and sitcoms might be cheaper to acquire. And even Hollywood has track records of adaptations that have failed. “Every country has a production business that has local expectations,” she says. Regardless, Edwards adds, “people like to have access to wonderful scripted shows that will, hopefully, be local hits. And the overseas script-writing business has not developed as quickly as it has in the U.S.” SPT’s Lerner points to the efficiency of a well-executed scripted format. “In terms of time, a good format can save the local producer 30 percent. We’re able to show them how to shoot in two days scenes that would normally take four days. And, in terms of costs, our approach can save them
CUTTING COSTS
Scripted formats might save the broadcaster the head aches of paying for writers to come up with a totally new concept that may or may not work. Nevertheless, in terms of costs, scripted remakes do require more investment than reproducing something clear-cut, like a game show. Scripted enter tainment requires the producer to hire local writers to adapt the original story
The big break: Twentieth Century Fox has developed a strong scripted format business in Russia, where a local version of Prison Break has been a hit for Channel One. 340
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“With the exception of the U.S., the U.K. and about half a dozen other markets, very few countries have the legacy to create their own local sitcoms and comedies,” SPT’s Lerner adds. Drama formats are equally gaining traction among international broadcasters.The award-winning thriller The Killing by Danish broadcaster DR was such a universal sensation that Fox Television Studios and Fuse Entertainment produced a U.S. remake that has been a success as well. Wallander, another Scandinavian noir crime series produced by Svensk Filmindustri and Yellow Bird, was not only a hit among Swedish audiences, but its British version, made by the BBC, had audiences in the U.K. enthralled. It comes as no surprise, consequently, to learn that scripted formats are becoming entrenched in TV networks’ strategy. “Broadcasters need to offer a wide variety of shows, and it is our obligation to give them that variety; it is part of our commitment to them as partners,” says Armoza. “Once you’ve got a good story with a season or more in place, you have a scripted format. A broadcaster’s motivation for buying it is to reduce the risk element and to save production time. If you’re a broadcaster looking for a good drama series and you want to air it soon, formats enable you to speed up the process.” CULTURE CZARS
Lasting love: FremantleMedia is one of the biggest producers of daily dramas in Europe, thanks to long-running hits like Forbidden Love, which in Germany airs as Verbotene Liebe.
between 30 percent and 40 percent for each episode. There’s also value in knowing the program has already been successful in the country of origin.” COMIC TIMING
Creatively speaking, formatted sitcoms disprove fears that humor is difficult to translate internationally. Half-hour comedies sell because they are cheaper than one-hour dramas and, if they contain no extremely idiosyncratic gimmicks, can travel— as is well proven by SPT classics like The Nanny. More recently, the sitcom Rules of Engagement, which has had six seasons in the U.S. on CBS and is being distributed internationally by SPT, was picked up for reversioning by TVN in Poland. Fox, too, has seen the universal appeal of comedy, including its shows It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Malcolm in the Middle. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, for example, is adaptable because “it features young, likeable people; it’s always sunny somewhere in the world. It is affordable to make by tweaking the jokes slightly,” Edwards says. 342
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Cultural relevance can be assured using various methods, as FremantleMedia has come to learn. The company’s deep portfolio of scripted-drama brands includes Good Times, Bad Times and Forbidden Love. “As a company, we support the rollout of scripted formats because you can learn from the first one, then the second, and the third, and it gets easier with each one,” FremantleMedia’s Wiffen says. Nevertheless, each country will present a specific set of challenges. Wiffen gives as an example the Russian localization of The Bill, a police soap opera that aired for 26 years on ITV1. “We had to bear in mind that British police officers do not carry guns while they do in Russia. Knowing such cultural nuances is vital to a format’s success. Sometimes, we’ve had to deal with even more delicate issues when selling to a Muslim country that require elements that are not applicable to the West.” This raises another point about making the foreign client’s vision paramount. Last April, FremantleMedia announced the sale of a daily soap, which had The Clan as its working title, to RTL Croatia. It was described as an original drama “created to suit its home market and as a traveling scripted format.” 4/12
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Speaking Greek: Global Agency has begun making format deals for the Greek soap Secrets of Eden.
The Clan was produced by FremantleMedia locally with the client’s market in mind. “They demanded something very specific to Croatia and it worked. I think that one will roll out across Eastern Europe,” Wiffen says. Another trend among format creators is to produce stories with gripping narratives but set in simple locations. The plots in Armoza’s The Naked Truth are all set in a police station’s interrogation room and focus on the tension between the suspect and the interrogating officer. “It is suitable for networks with limited budgets that need strong local drama,” Armoza says. For a format to resonate elsewhere, it needn’t have been successful in its home country, it seems. Fox’s Edwards points to The Oaks, a pilot for a supernatural series that didn’t make the grade at the FOX network almost four years ago. “We put that back into development in 2011 for a series called Marchlands, which became a ratings success in the U.K. We call such concepts ‘passion projects’—for whatever reason, they weren’t hits but became wonderful ideas that could be localized elsewhere.”
ago,” says Ricardo Ehrsam, Televisa Internacional’s general director for Europe and Asia. “Although we’re already flourishing in Eastern Europe and Spain, in other Western European markets, it has been hard. So we changed strategies so that Televisa produces it for the local market. It is another way of getting incremental revenues from our intellectual properties and trademarks.” Other countries are creating their own kinds of telenovelas. Global Agency is among the players contributing to the rising prominence of Turkish and Greek telenovelas on the international scene—including in Latin America. “Latin America is such a major production region [that] the Turkish telenovelas haven’t been on the radar, until recently,” says Izzet Pinto, the CEO of Global Agency. “Global Agency’s scripted format Forbidden Love is being produced by Telemundo for the U.S. Hispanic market and they will also distribute it in Latin America. We have also sold the format rights to the Greek telenovela Secrets of Eden with local versions produced in Turkey and Armenia.” The company is picking up enquiries for 1001 Nights as well.
UNIVERSAL LOVE
Latin American telenovelas have established reputations as dramas that are economical to produce on a large scale and be replicated easily. The Colombian telenovela Betty, La Fea, for example, boasts numerous foreign adaptations, including Ugly Betty, the U.S. remake, which was a ratings blockbuster in several countries, among them the U.K., Canada, South Africa, Australia and France. Televisa Internacional’s strategy has been to boost revenues by selling telenovelas to Eastern Europe.Western Europe, however, has been a challenge. In response, the company is using its Spanish office to sell not only the formats but also its production skills for the localized remake. Sueña conmigo, a drama series for preteens and teens that Televisa co-produced with Nickelodeon and Illusion Studios, has been sold to the French digital channel NRJ 12 for a local version. Part of Televisa’s format strategy involves using its own production prowess. “This is a process we started just over a year 344
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WINDOW TO THE FUTURE
Several companies frequently sell both the original version of a scripted show and the format. Often, the timing of a format’s availability is a sticking point during sales negotiations. Twentieth Century Fox, for example, has several demands for the format of Glee, the musical-comedy sensation. On the one hand, “Glee is still in production in the U.S. and we don’t want to compete with ourselves,” Edwards says. On the other hand, “broadcasters don’t want to wait for the show to be out of date.” It remains a dilemma, but one that confirms the growing popularity of scripted formats. FremantleMedia is even considering setting up a centralized virtual studio dedicated to scripted formats. “We’re looking into the idea of building a production hub where you create and produce scripted formats for different countries in the one place,” Wiffen discloses. “If any one company can do that, it could be probably be us.” 4/12
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e O m n a ! G
CBS Studios International’s Wheel of Fortune in France.
Interactive elements and enhanced play-along features are bringing new life to the always-in-demand game-show genre. By Kristin Brzoznowski
N
ight after night millions of TV viewers around the world play along with their favorite game shows, yelling answers at their television sets. While “interactivity” might be a recent buzzword for many in the programming industry, the concept is nothing new to those in the game-show business. “The Price Is Right first launched in 1956 and it was one of the very earliest forms of interactivity,” says Trish Kinane, the president of worldwide entertainment at FremantleMedia. “Viewers at home could be shouting out the answers, thinking that they knew them before the contestants on the screen.” Kinane says that game shows at their core have a “let’s grab the viewer” mission. “I know we’re all interacting [with content] in different ways now, but it really was the earliest form of interactivity and engagement with the viewer, and I think that’s just very attractive and very appealing.” 346
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FremantleMedia has a number of “golden classics” in its catalogue, with game shows that have been on the air for decades. Among them, Family Feud, Password and Let’s Make a Deal have all proven their staying power.“They’re just very well-structured,” Kinane says of the shows’ long-lasting appeal. “For a game show, they’ve either got to be entertaining or have a great game-play, and what all of these have got is both.” CBS Studios International, too, has long-running game shows in its catalogue, including Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! “They are classic and each show has more than 37 years of worldwide success,” says Paul Gilbert, the company’s senior VP of international formats. But even the crown jewels need polishing sometimes, asserts Kinane. “We keep freshening them up,” she says of the company’s library titles. “They’re the same shows, with the same 4/12
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mechanics that have always made them work.We’re very keen, particularly with these golden classic brands, to protect those formats because we know they work year in, year out, but they are refreshed in very subtle ways. The Price Is Right, for example, was refreshed and relaunched in France in 2009 and it’s been the number one game show in the country. Even though you’d recognize it as exactly the same Price Is Right from 1956, it now has a contemporary, modern feel to it. The presenter treats it in a very different way, so it’s totally modern, but at the same time it’s paying tribute to its very long heritage.” Two of SevenOne International’s most successful titles, My Man Can and You Deserve It, introduce a new angle to the classic game-show genre. “With You Deserve It, Dick de Rijk, the creator of Deal or No Deal, developed a hybrid format, mixing reality and game-show elements,” explains Henrik Pabst, SevenOne’s director of international format acquisitions. “The game play alone would work as a stand-alone show, but it is the reality-show elements that complete You Deserve It and make it a truly great show. “The secret of My Man Can’s success is that it mixes strategy and bluffing with the completion of physical tasks,” Pabst continues. “Women gamble with their husbands’ abilities. This puts them into a leading role without making fun of the men, who, at the same time, become heroes by fulfilling the tasks.” DO THE TWIST
Alongside more classic-style games such as Trust, Banijay International’s catalogue features a number of game shows with innovative twists. “The game-show genre is one of constant evolution,” says Karoline Spodsberg, the managing director of Banijay International. “There are endless variations on the key subcategories as well as many innovative ways in which aspects of other genres can be merged with classic game-show themes to create something really fresh. However, despite this innovation, it’s still the classic game shows that rule in terms of ratings. They still really speak to audiences. From a sales perspective, game shows are some of the easiest formats to adapt due to their versatility in terms of budgets, and crucially due to the fact that there are very rarely cultural boundaries to game-show formats. That’s why game shows were some of the first formats to travel and why they remain popular in the international market.” Jan Salling, the COO and sales director for NordicWorld, has also been encouraged by the wide placement potential for game shows. “Commercial broadcasters seem to have the biggest appetite for game shows, and it doesn’t appear to matter where they are, from India to Indiana,” he says. “Game shows truly cross borders. I think commercial broadcasters also like game shows because they can monetize them in ways that the pubcasters cannot, as they usually have more flexible rules for product placements and the like.” Indeed, there are a number of opportunities for onair sponsorships and promotional tie-ins with game shows. “Straight off, any game show that gives away material prizes is a natural home for sponsorship by brands and manufacturers or retailers,” says Banijay’s Spodsberg. The possibilities are numerous, says Spodsberg.“You can start with matching the theme or focus of the show; Faces would be a great match for a celebrity magazine, for example, and Super Star Ding Dong could be sponsored by a music store.Then 4/12
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you can look to the target demo. For example, in France Hold On to Your Seat airs in a time slot that’s very much geared toward housewives and there are a host of opportunities there.” She continues, “Beat Your Host, in particular, presents a lot of windows for these kinds of revenue sources. The format is flexible to the point where the producers could actually design challenges with particular sponsors in mind, so that, for example, they would use a certain amount of sporting equipment, automobiles or tools and appliances, or make use of a particular place like a stadium or theater that could act as a sponsor.” SHELF LIFE
Spodsberg also sees potential for merchandising extensions as another revenue stream. “Game shows do tend to lend themselves to merchandising, perhaps more than most other adultskewed programming, in that the game-play element is an immediate avenue into marketable merchandise. Beat Your Host is again a good example here. Brainpool has a deal with the German game manufacturer Ravensburger and that partnership has resulted in a very successful board game; in 2010 it was the most successful board game in terms of sales figures in Germany. Beat Your Host video games for the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation and PC platforms have also been very popular with consumers.” Other companies have also tapped into the merchandising potential of
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Back on the block: First broadcast on ITV in the 1980s, FremantleMedia’s Blockbusters is being resurrected for Sky’s Challenge TV.
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Pabst says that most of SevenOne’s signature game shows are placed in prime-time slots, but that there’s always flexibility with this kind of format.“We just finished Time Is Money and Ten Ladies Luck, Dick de Rijk’s latest format. Both are great in prime time but work well in access prime and can be stripped over the week.” A show that was an access prime-time series for one broadcaster could be a prime-time show for another, Banijay’s Spodsberg notes. “In general, Hold On to Your Seat falls into the classic quiz genre and works very well stripped; it’s on seven days a week during the daytime in France and also has a stripped slot in Japan. Super Star Ding Dong and Faces both have a shiny-floor aspect that could work in [weekday] prime time or in a Saturday night slot, but they could equally be repurposed for an earlier slot. Trust was developed for access prime time, but again we feel there is a lot of potential for this format across the schedule.” GRID HOPPING
Balancing act: Banijay represents the rights to the Brainpool catalogue, which includes the hit game show Beat Your Host, broadcast in Germany as Schlag den Raab.
their game shows. “It goes from toys and actual consumables right through to live shows and digital, interactive and mobile games,” says FremantleMedia’s Kinane. “It’s an interesting business, but both broadcasters and producers are very much aware of the fact that you need an onscreen success first,” NordicWorld’s Salling points out. “Once you have that, [licensing and merchandising] can be an effective way of monetizing your show.” NordicWorld’s format division is less than a year old, but it has already found success with The Wall.The show, commissioned by MTV3 in Finland, has been optioned in the U.K., U.S., France, Germany, Brazil,Turkey and the Middle East.The format is based on touch-screen technology for studio play and at-home interactive play-along features for iPads and iPhones. “The revenue streams from potential app sales for The Wall could easily become just as lucrative as traditional premium charged phone-in revenues from the big talent shows,” Salling says.
FremantleMedia’s Kinane has noticed that there’s been a scheduling shuffle for these types of formats in recent years. “There were a lot of game shows in prime time; that went out of fashion, certainly in the U.K., and [they] were then moved into daytime and access prime.You even had big-name TV presenters who wouldn’t normally consider doing a daytime program and suddenly they would do a quality classic heritage game show if it was in daytime, because of the kudos and tradition that went with it. But I think they’re moving back again now.” Family Feud, for example, is in prime time on ITV in the U.K., where it airs as Family Fortunes. Blockbusters, which started on ITV in 1983 and ran for 11 years, is being relaunched for Sky’s Challenge TV in an access prime slot. “Game shows move around the schedule and I think that’s one of the huge advantages to them, they can play anywhere,” Kinane says. “Game shows are here to stay,” Kinane proclaims. “I don’t think they’re going anywhere.They’re just going to morph and change and you’ll find them in all sorts of different parts of the schedule.... People love game shows, whether it’s straight question and answer or whether there’s a game in it or whether you take it into the physical realm like Hole in the Wall or Total Blackout. Game shows will always be around. They’re going to have modern manifestations and different sorts of treatments, but there’s room for it all.”
GET APP-Y
New technology continues to enhance the gameshow genre. “The possibility to play along is becoming increasingly important, especially for the new generation of viewers,” Salling says. “But the key to success for a game show is that it has to be entertaining enough to be watched without interactive bells and whistles. If it doesn’t stand alone as a viewing experience, it won’t make the numbers in terms of eyeballs.” At FremantleMedia, there are apps for The Price Is Right, Family Feud and others, as well as social games on platforms like Facebook.“It’s just essential now,” Kinane says. For SevenOne’s Pabst, these interactive tools have become key.“It is vital for a game show that the audience is involved. The better the playalong factor, the better the game show. Interactive features help involve the viewers.” 348
Lighting up the screen: Relatively new in the format space, NordicWorld has notched up numerous options on The Wall, from Finland.
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NBC’s
Paul Telegdy
TV FORMATS: Congratulations on the huge numbers for
the return of The Voice this season. What are some of the things you learned from season one? TELEGDY: It’s dawned on [the coaches, CeeLo Green, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton and Adam Levine] that they’re part of something really big and also that the stakes are not just for the contestants—there’s the bragging rights for who wins the competition. The lesson we learned from season one is, if you’ve got this intimacy and chemistry between these coaches, you better have another couple of cameras looking down that line [at the four coaches] and a few more microphones! You get an ever better sense of the truth of the rivalry and the genuine friendship between them. It’s a laugh making this show. TV FORMATS: The U.S. was the first market to launch its own version of The Voice following its Dutch success.Why did you decide to take a chance on the format? TELEGDY: The Netherlands is the intellectual property generator story of the last 25 years. The man at the heart of that story is John de Mol [the creator of The Voice]. He’s a brilliant producer and creator of ideas. Holland’s unique evolution has allowed for an intense level of competition in a very small market, with people who were smart enough to make the kind of shows they could afford to make, but do so with high stakes in the ratings. Fear Factor, Deal or No Deal, Big Brother, the list goes on. There are certain markets that will give you a false read on whether something will work or not. But frankly, it wasn’t even the Dutch ratings story. Just seeing the show itself, its spirit, and obviously the very marketable, easy-to-hang-on-to visual and dinnertheater aspect of the first round [of blind auditions, where the judges can’t see the performers]. It just immediately appealed to me as a viewer. I speak English and German, as a result of which, I kind of feel like I speak Dutch. I could watch the Dutch show and know exactly what was going on. I thought, I can’t believe I’m watching a show in Dutch that is as entertaining as one in English. People around the world are kicking themselves—rotating chairs and the concept of the blind audition, why didn’t we think of that? That is probably the case with all the major game-changing pieces of television. There are some very, very smart people that once in a while stick the right key in the right lock. That’s what The Voice did. It has some great characteristics in terms of how efficient it is to produce. And then Christina, Adam, Blake and CeeLo are just relevant and right now and on everyone’s playlists. It’s almost unimaginable that we got as lucky as we got working with busy artists and getting the right level of commitment from them to make [the show] excellent. Also, just luck. If they hated each other, it’d be a problem.
By Mansha Daswani
Thanks to its securing the plum post–Super Bowl position on NBC this January, the second-season premiere of The Voice drew a whopping 37 million viewers. Subsequent episodes, meanwhile, have managed to draw in more than 16 million viewers, sometimes putting the series ahead of that other talentshow juggernaut, American Idol. Paul Telegdy, the president of alternative and late-night programming at NBC, talks about acquiring formats from the international market and his efforts to develop new concepts in-house that can then be rolled out around the world. 350
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TV FORMATS: You’ve got Betty White’s Off Their Rockers coming up. What attracted you to that format? TELEGDY: We had been pitched Benidorm Bastards as this show that had done big business all over the world. We politely passed. And then they came back with Betty White attached and suddenly it’s a show! Betty White is the grandma to the whole of America, she’s an icon, she’s beloved. She gives permission for us to go where the show needs to go in order to deliver the comedic notes. She’s an amazing lady.We’re thrilled 4/12
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to have the opportunity to work with her. She helped us cast the show and she’s an arbiter of our appalling taste and sometimes she tops ours. [Laughs] She’s a classic. We did a 90th birthday special for her, which did a huge number for us, and we tucked in a preview episode of Off Their Rockers and we were thrilled with the feedback. TV FORMATS: Can you tell us about your initiatives to
develop concepts in-house that your colleagues at NBCUniversal International can then sell on as formats worldwide? TELEGDY: Let’s go through the recent catalogue of big reality on NBC. The oldest standing player on our network is The Apprentice: that was on NBC first before it went anywhere else around the world. America’s Got Talent: that was on NBC first before anywhere in the world. The Biggest Loser: on NBC first and then it went everywhere in the world. And then we’ve got The Voice and Who Do You Think You Are? and Off Their Rockers and Deal or No Deal. Of course, we’ve had our fair share of imports. We’ve had more [imports] than exports. The financial decision to be more in the contentownership business should not be presented as some kind of crazy logic. It’s just business. If I’m paying a premium for a bright idea from someone else who has tested it in 20 countries, I’m happy to do that, we’re in that business. If we’re taking a big swing on a piece of content like The Voice from one of television’s great creators, if we’re tinkering away for months and months, working with top producers to come up with ideas, we’ll do it any which way. We would like to own a bit more of what we do, and yes our new owners [Comcast] have made it clear that they don’t just want to be publishers, they want to be publishers and distributors, and that content creation is absolutely a core building block of NBCUniversal. TV FORMATS: What are some of your other alternative programming priorities this season? TELEGDY: We launched Fashion Star on March 13. At its heart this is a competition for designers. But this is not about finding a designer who can take the wool of a shearling lamb, dye it, tease it into cotton, weave the material and then stitch it into a dress.This is about someone with a vision about fashion in the mainstream. Previous fashion competition shows might have said, here’s a steak, some sack cloth and a lampshade, make a dress. We are saying, who are you, what’s your story? And here are your potential buyers. We mean that in the realest sense—it’s the buyers from three of the biggest retailers in America: H&M, Saks Fifth Avenue and Macy’s. We have winners every week who are selling clothes to these retailers, mentored by people who are really in the business. The ultimate winner will have capsule collections in H&M, in Saks and in Macy’s under their name as designer, on the day they win the competition. [The strengths of the show are] the commerce behind that, the production ingenuity and the massive support by our retailers as partners in the off-air marketing. Plus, there is the phenomenal sponsor power that’s being brought to bear—the show sold out way up front because it’s aspirational, fast moving, it’s about transactions. It’s very different from a format point of view. The show is not about completing a task, staging a runway show and then having some snippy comments. It’s showcase after showcase, a high-energy, high-octane 4/12
fashion show with an element of spectacle, with the buyers then buying the clothes in front of [the celebrity mentors], who are people who have invested in the progress of the contestants. It’s sexy as hell. And it’s full of people with relatable, relevant stories. [The mentors] Jessica Simpson, Nicole Richie and John Varvatos have every right to be a part of the process of finding America’s next fashion star. TV FORMATS: Do you think we’ll be seeing more and more concepts that find new ways of integrating marketing partners? TELEGDY: We are a broadcaster, we do sell 30-second spots and we’re in a very commoditized advertising market. We’re having frequent early conversations about how to add value to [our clients’] media buys. That’s not the case with the retailers in Fashion Star, but it is the case with our partners Maybelline New York, Fiat and Suave. So there are integrations. It’s part and parcel. We do it on so many shows, some with a degree of elegancy and on this one a huge degree of elegancy. World Screen
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Talent wanted: The Voice, with coaches CeeLo Green (above), Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, has been a breakout hit for NBC.
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show is about wish fulfillment, it’s about making people’s dreams come true. Everybody wants to improve their home as well, so it’s resonant on a number of levels. And when you look at Dancing with the Stars it just strikes you and you can’t take your eyes off of it because it’s so beautiful. So what was true when those shows were launched remains true today, that the best shows will be the ones that touch people at their core. TV FORMATS: What kind of shows are you developing with an eye to local productions in many countries? WONG: We’re looking for shows and we’re trying to develop shows that are emotionally engaging. We’re looking around the world to see what’s going on in the zeitgeist, what’s going on emotionally with people, and we’re trying to tap into those things. In conjunction with that, because we’re the only U.S. studio with a truly global footprint of production companies, it’s important that we develop strong shows and content that will travel globally. That’s really key for us. And then we have expert managing directors in each territory who are very good at localizing those ideas.
Sony’s
Andrea Wong By Anna Carugati
With the dual title of president of international for Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) and president of international production for Sony Pictures Television (SPT), Andrea Wong is responsible for a number of the studio’s key businesses. Based in London, she not only oversees the creative teams outside the U.S., as well as the 17 owned and joint-venture international production companies, she also acts as the company’s commercial and governmental representative related to production abroad. Prior to joining Sony she had headed up Lifetime Networks and alternative programming at ABC Entertainment, and in both posts sharpened her skills in unscripted programming. She talks to TV Formats about Sony’s international productions.
TV FORMATS: As the economy is quite challenging in several countries, does Sony offer a range of formats that can fit different budgets? Could you give me some examples? WONG: The good news is we have a huge catalogue of shows. As an example, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? has been produced in 83 different versions, so you can imagine the wildly different budgets for 116 different countries. Another thing, which was a great treat for me to learn when I came into this role, is that we have great expertise and success at adapting scripted formats as well. So for example, Everybody Loves Raymond does phenomenally well both in Russia and the Middle East, [where it has] very different production budgets. TV FORMATS: Are you seeing an uptick in scripted formats? The perception is that they’re a little more complicated to produce than unscripted. Is that the case? WONG: I was alluding to that earlier. Yes, we are seeing an uptick in them and our studio is very, very good at adapting American sitcoms and American scripted formats successfully. It requires an amount of consulting and time and effort to ensure that we both maintain the heart of what the series is and yet localize it so that a Russian audience will enjoy Everybody Loves Raymond, for example. We put in a significant amount of time and effort. It’s push and pull, and somehow we’ve been able to really get that mix right. TV FORMATS: Looking at both scripted and unscripted for-
TV FORMATS: The market for reality and talent competition
shows has become much more crowded since Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition first aired.These are all shows you helped develop when you were at ABC. Today, what kind of shows can cut through the clutter and connect with viewers? WONG: The shows that can really cut through the clutter are the ones that are deeply emotionally resonant with people. If you think about a show like The Bachelor, this show resonates with the audience because everybody understands what it feels like to fall in love or to be dumped. Or take Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, as an example. This 352
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mats, which of the shows that have been produced internationally have done well? WONG: On the unscripted side, we alluded to Millionaire in 116 different countries. One of the fun ones is The Dr. Oz Show, which has traveled around the world. It is in China and Colombia and Russia and the Middle East. And three of our other territories are prepping other versions of it, so that’s exciting. It’s really the only talk show that’s been formatted and exported around the world. There’s another show called Cover Me that was created in Holland and has been produced around the world. On the scripted side, it’s everything from Raymond to Married…with Children, of which there’s an enor4/12
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Getting healthy: The Dr. Oz Show has been adapted in numerous territories, including Russia, with broadcaster Rossiya.
mously successful Russian version, as well as The King of Queens and Rules of Engagement.Those are just a few of them. TV FORMATS: You mentioned Cover Me.You not only take
from the U.S. and go out into the world, but you can also take from individual territories and then move those formats into other countries? WONG: That’s exactly right. The Exit List recently aired in the U.K. and we intend to take that format around the world. Millionaire was started in the U.K. in 1998. TV FORMATS: We live in a digital world with mobile,
tablets, online, all sorts of ways that viewers can get their content. What creative opportunities do these platforms offer when developing and producing formats? WONG: They create a really exciting situation for a number of reasons. First, they add another creative degree of freedom as you’re thinking about creating content. All of a sudden you have these other devices to use potentially in conjunction with television. Second, they bring huge ancillary opportunities, whether it’s taking a game show and creating a different experience for mobile or for a tablet or for online. We can also develop exclusively for these platforms, so I think there are a lot of exciting things to come on all fronts. TV FORMATS: Millionaire has had a lot of different iterations. WONG: Millionaire is a classic example. There are online
games. There are opportunities for viewers to call in via mobile phones and win on the show, which is something we do on our specials in the U.K. right now. We have a scripted show from Holland, Who’s In Who’s Out, which allows viewers to call in or go online and vote for the characters they want in and out of the show. If it works, you’ll be seeing it in other territories soon.That’s just another example of the kind of things you can do with these digital platforms. TV FORMATS: Are you looking to establish even more pro-
duction companies? 354
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WONG: Absolutely. We have a very big footprint right now.
We have 17 [owned and joint-venture] production companies in 14 different countries, but we certainly want to continue to strengthen and grow our production network and ensure that we are strong in all genres in every major territory. TV FORMATS: As there is increased consolidation of produc-
tion companies in several countries, is there competition for the same talent in some of these countries? What advantage does Sony offer an actor, a writer, a producer? WONG: There’s always competition, but the great advantage of being part of Sony is that the Sony brand is extremely strong around the world. We have a huge catalogue, which is also a big advantage. In addition, we also offer a creative person the opportunity to share know-how with our global creative council, to share with our other production companies and to know that what they create has a great Sony network to launch shows throughout the world. TV FORMATS: And many international territories offer even
more growth potential than the U.S., right? WONG: Absolutely. There are so many territories around the
world that have tremendous growth potential and the possibilities are endless for Sony. TV FORMATS: Are you seeing commonalities in what people want from television and from programming? WONG: I am, and going back to emotional resonance—people are fundamentally the same. The same things resonate emotionally with them, like I said, whether it’s falling in love or raising your children (in the case of Supernanny). They have the same desires, the same needs, the same worries, no matter what culture they’re from. So if you look at those commonalities, I think that’s a great base to start thinking about developing content. I’m just having a great time learning about the entertainment business around the world. I just see so much opportunity. So it’s an exciting time. 4/12
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