MasterChef cooks up Chinese meal

MIPTV: UK-based production group Shine has brokered a deal with a Chinese broadcaster for a local version of global cooking format MasterChef.

Shanghai Media Group (SMG) channel Dragon TV will air its adaptation later this year. Shine Network will provide consultation during production of the 12×90′ series.

Mark Fennessy, president of Shine Network, said: “The SMG team are passionate about all things MasterChef, and we look forward to working with them on this and hopefully further Shine Group formats in the future.”

Fenessey told MipTV delegates this week that Shine Australia’s ‘supersize’ version of MasterChef was rejected by Network Ten three times before eventually airing in Australia in 2009. It went on to become the highest-rating non-sports programme in Australian television history.

The show is now produced in more than 35 countries worldwide and airs in at least 200 territories.

In Asia, the format airs in India (Star), Indonesia (RCTI), Malaysia (Astro) and the Philippines (ABS-CBN). South Korean (O’live) and Bangladeshi (Delta Bay) versions of the format are expected to debut this spring.