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MIPCOM: The creators of Spanish talent hit Operacion Triunfo (aka Star Academy) have teamed up with Telemundo International in a global format alliance.
Former Gestmusic-Endemol execs Toni Cruz and Josep Maria Mainat left the Big Brother firm a year ago and now, after their non-compete period expired, have set up Reset TV to develop new formats and refresh their library titles.
To exploit its IP, Reset has teamed up with Miami distributor Telemundo International, which is here in Cannes launching the duo’s new formats and giving the older ones a revamp.
Of the new formats, Letris stands out in that it’s a stripped gameshow based on an iPad game app of the same name, developed and launched last year by Spain’s Ivanovic Games.
Speaking to C21 at Telemundo International’s stand in Cannes, Cruz said: “We’d seen the app and how well it was doing, so we contacted Ivanovic about turning it into a TV show. We thought they were in Russia but they turned out to be just down the road, in Barcelona.”
He said the show would be a 45-minute daily strip, with the app’s community of four million players able to play along with the studio contestants. “It mixes the app with television and players at home can win the prize if they beat the studio players,” said Cruz.
Other formats from Reset that Telemundo is selling include Junior Hits, Crazy Little People, The Perfect Double, Let’s Dance, Martian Chronicles and Operacion Triunfo. The latter format – which helped reboot the talent show genre 10 years ago – is still under licence to Endemol in numerous markets but Telemundo has Latin America, the US and the UK, among other territories.
The Reset deal immediately gives Telemundo International a presence in the unscripted format space, having traditionally relied on telenovelas for its international sales.
As to whether Telemundo channel in the US would be commissioning any shows based on Reset formats, Cruz said this was a possibility but nothing has yet been signed with the broadcaster behind Telemundo International.
