iWorld
MIPTV & ZDF Studios announce finalists for MIPFormats Pitch 2024
Mumbai: MIPTV revealed the five finalists of the MIPFORMATS PITCH 2024 staged in partnership with ZDF Studios, each of whom will present their original unscripted entertainment formats in front of a renowned industry jury in Cannes on the second day of MIPFORMATS (6-7 April).
Finalists were shortlisted based on a potential universal appeal by an international jury of format experts who will also judge the pitches on the day, comprised of Ilan Astrug, VP, Formats Acquisition and Sales, Warner Bros. Int. TV Production; Siobhan Crawford, Content and Founder, GLOW MEDIA; Julien Degroote EVP, Head of Content Development, TF1 Group; Ella Umansky, VP Format Acquisitions, ITV Studios and Ralf Rückauer, VP Unscripted, ZDF Studios.
With 89 submissions for the 2024 competition received from a record 29 countries, the finalists are:
‘Villa Incognito’, Tuvalu Media (Netherlands)
‘25’, LGH Entertainment (Norway)
‘A.I Of The Beholder’, David Tobiasz (Canada)
‘The Stupid House’, Chulapo Pictures (UK)
‘Unknown Champions’, Phillip Sindermann (Germany)
The popular annual session will be staged in the world-renowned Palais des Festivals on Sunday 7th April at 16:30. One winner will be selected live on stage receiving a financial contribution of €2000 to development, in addition to complementary accreditation to a future MIP Market and access to coaching and mentoring expertise from within the ZDF Studios Group for a year.
ZDF Studios vice president unscripted Ralf Rückauer said: “There is a tendency in the market to revive existing formats that audiences are familiar with. This makes it all the more interesting to look at fresh, unusual and completely new ideas. We were pleasantly surprised by the number of submissions and their diversity and originality. I look forward to meeting the five finalists of this exciting competition in person in Cannes.”
Last year’s competition saw the Turkish talent show format ‘The Show Must Go On’, created by Format Workshop triumphing over concepts from Italy, the UK and Ukraine.
MIPFORMATS will take place within the MIPTV pre-opening weekend (6-7 April), which alongside an extended MIPDOC strand creates ‘the biggest weekend in Unscripted’ in Cannes ahead of the three-day MIPTV exhibition market (8-10 April) set to welcome over 130 exhibitors and delegates from 85 countries.
The MIPTV conference programme will feature returning renowned elements including keynotes from leading industry players, The MIP SDG Award (in partnership with the United Nations), and MIPLAB summits focusing on the future of the industry. International Series Festival CANNESERIES will run alongside MIPTV from 5-10 April.
iWorld
Banijay Asia’s The 50 tops OTT charts with 8.1 million JioHotstar views
Reality competition becomes most watched show on JioHotstar in debut week.
MUMBAI: Fifty contestants walked into a palace, but millions of viewers showed up for the drama. Reality competition The 50, produced by Banijay Asia, has emerged as the most watched show on JioHotstar, clocking 8.1 million views in its debut week. The figure, reported by Ormax Media, places the show at the top of the OTT viewership charts and marks a strong opening for the digital reality format.
Adapted from a popular French format, The 50 brings together 50 personalities from television, digital platforms, music and reality shows inside a grand palace setting. Over the course of a 50 day competition, participants form alliances, compete in unpredictable tasks and navigate eliminations as the field steadily narrows.
Guiding the game is a mysterious figure known as The Lion, an unseen game master whose voice introduces twists, challenges and strategic turns throughout the show, adding an extra layer of suspense to the contest.
What distinguishes The 50 from typical reality competitions is its audience driven prize structure. Instead of the winner taking home the final reward, the prize is awarded to one of the winner’s registered followers through the show’s dedicated app. The mechanism effectively turns viewers into participants, allowing fans to have a direct stake in the outcome.
The contestant lineup features a mix of television actors, reality stars and digital creators, including Karan Patel, Urvashi Dholakia, Divya Agarwal, Mr Faisu and Dushyant Kukreja, each bringing their own fan following to the show.
With its blend of celebrity personalities, strategic gameplay and interactive viewer participation, The 50 has quickly carved out a strong foothold in India’s digital entertainment landscape. Its 8.1 million views in the opening week underline the growing appetite for large scale reality formats designed specifically for OTT audiences.
