China’s Shenzhen weds UK’s Bride

Chinese broadcaster Shenzhen is working on a local version of UK show Don’t Tell the Bride after distributor DRG secured a raft of deals for its formats in the territory.

Don’t Tell The Bride

Don’t Tell the Bride was originally created by Renegade Productions for BBC3 and is being developed by Chinese producer and distributor IPCN for broadcast on Shenzhen.

The format, which recently moved from BBC3 to flagship BBC1 in the UK, separates engaged couples in the weeks leading up to their wedding and allows the groom to take control of the day’s events. The finished programme and format have sold to more than 120 territories including the US, Japan and the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, Belgian format Sooner or Later, from De TV Makers, will also air on Shenzhen, with Shanghai-based Idea Asia Media producing. The format sees four celebrity contestants answering questions about music, culture, movies and sports with either ‘sooner’ or ‘later.’

Shenzhen already works with Idea Asia on Belgian primetime gameshow format The Generation Show, which has been commissioned for three seasons on the Chinese network.

Elsewhere, IPCN is producing mockumentary and prank show format The Work Experience, which first aired on E4 in the UK, for China’s VoD service Tencent, while China Travel Channel will broadcast Group M Entertainment’s real-life gameshow format Symptom, which is being remade by 3C Media.

Joel Atley, senior VP of sales for Asia Pacific at Modern Times Group-owned DRG, said: “China is an incredibly important market for TV distribution and we are committed to growing our business in the region. These deals show our ability to identify the opportunities in the market and secure important format deals all over the world.”