Keshet In’l strikes China comedy deal

MIPCOM: The global distribution and production arm of Israel’s Keshet Media Group has agreed a scripted deal with Chinese production house Huace Group/Croton Media.

Huace Group/Croton Media’s hit comedy-drama Dating Hunter

Huace Group/Croton Media will adapt two award-winning comedies from Keshet International for the Chinese market, including Traffic Light and Loaded.

Meanwhile, the group’s prodco Keshet Studios has optioned the rights to Huace Group/Croton Media’s hit comedy-drama Dating Hunter for the US market – a first for a Chinese format.

Dating Hunter, about a failed advertising exec who opens a dating agency, claimed a ratings record as the most watched ‘city-themed’ drama of 2014 on two of the four satellite channels on which it launched. It also increased their slot average by 30% and racked up more than one billion views online.

Both of Keshet’s comedies are currently in pre-production, although no Chinese broadcasters are yet attached. The first of the two projects, Traffic Light, is expected to go into production in 2016/17 for a 2018 launch, opening the door for more of Keshet’s scripted formats to enter China.

Keshet International’s CEO Alon Shtruzman said the reciprocal deal between the two companies was “a firm step towards furthering our growth in the burgeoning Chinese market.”

Huace Group/Croton Media VP Liu Zhi called the deal “not only a ‘win-win’ for content, but also an innovative move in distributing Chinese TV drama to the international market.”

The deal with Huace Group/Croton Media is the latest international partnership for Keshet and follows on the heels of its co-development partnership signed with Telefe in Argentina last week.