Rising Star heads for Turkey

Turkish prodco Acun Medya is the latest international player to license rights to Keshet International’s hit format Rising Star.

The company, which is known for producing Turkish versions of The Voice, Survivor and Got Talent, will now work on a local version of the singing format though no broadcast has yet been disclosed.

The interactive talent show was originally produced by Tedy Productions for Keshet Broadcasting’s Channel 2 and premiered in September, drawing a 46% audience share.

The show allows viewers to vote on the efforts of singers in real time as they perform behind a screen, giving them immediate feedback. If the performer secures 70% of the viewers’ and judges’ votes, the screen rises and the performer is revealed.

Acun Ilıcalı, founder and CEO of Acun Medya, said: “We believe Rising Star’s technological twist is going to begin a new era in television where the audience has real-time control over the course of live programmes.”

Since its launch at Mipcom last year, Rising Star has been picked up by more than 20 broadcasters worldwide including, recently, TVI in Portugal, Globo TV in Brazil, and Atresmedia in Spain.