Media Ranch names Horsepower candidates

Canadian producer and distributor Media Ranch has chosen eight candidates to participate in its format incubation project Horsepower 3.0.

Sophie Ferron

Backed for the first time by French commercial broadcaster TF1 and in association with local channels operator Quebecor Content, Horsepower 3.0 aims to create exportable unscripted TV formats from French-speaking Canada.

Five women and three men from Québec selected for the programme have now begun the 16-week incubation process, Media Ranch founder and president Sophie Ferron said.

They are personal stylist and fashion professor Christiane Berthiaume, actor Claudia Ferri, communications officer Elsa Olano, film student Charlotte Brassard, film production student Alexandra Paquin, high-school teacher Mathieu Ferland, National School of Humor graduate Louis-Philippe Vachon and podcast host Robert Baziramwabo.

Throughout the process, the candidates will be mentored by industry experts including Julien Degroote, VP of content development at TF1 Group, and Christine Maestracci, VP of acquisitions and international distribution at Quebecor Content.

The incubation programme will end in July with the presentation of eight virtual pitches to the jury made up of 10 representatives of the four partners.

The winning format will receive co-development funding from Quebecor Content and TF1, while Media Ranch will manage production and global distribution.

Dating show Heartbreak Hotel, the winning Horsepower 2.0 format created by Isabelle Laperrière, was acquired by South Korea’s SBS FormatEast last year.