 |
       |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
Benelux checks into Paradise Hotel Though hopes of a summer return to Fox network in the US now seem optimistic, TV Corp's Paradise Hotel is certainly becoming a European hit, with two new deals in Benelux. Holland and Belgium are the latest Northern European markets to take the format, as TV Corp's international arm sells the Mentorn-devised format to the SBS channels Veronica in the Netherlands and VT4 in Belgium, with Kanakna producing. A pan-Benelux version of Paradise Hotel will be stripped daily this fall on both networks and is being shot in the same Mexican location previously used for the Danish and Swedish versions of the format, which were produced for TV3 and TV4 respectively. “Paradise Hotel has all the ingredients for a hit reality show: real people in a beautiful location with surreal circumstances," said Veronica channel manager Alphons Martens. "A station like Veronica, aiming for the 18-34 audience, can stand out in a competitive market with a stripped version of this format." The Mentorn team that created and produced the original US series back in 2003, including exec producer Rob Bagshaw, will be acting as consultants to SBS, providing editorial and technical expertise on the Benelux shows. TCI’s head of format sales Hannah Worrall closed the Benelux deals. Meanwhile, TV3 Denmark's 48-episode series also begins airing in the fall, while TV4's show ran over 50 episodes, stripped across a 10-week run in February this year, peaking at some 33% audience share at 22.35. TV Corp is now looking to turn the Mexican location into a back-to-back Paradise Hotel production base, with deals poised with unnamed channels in Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal. Mentorn is hoping that by building the format into a lower-cost European success story, the US door might open again. Ed Waller 21 Jul 2005 © C21 Media 2005 
C21 Home | Formats Lab Home | Printer Friendly | Email a Friend |
|
|
|
|
|
|
