Sony’s space format takes off

A Dutch broadcaster has claimed it will become the first to send people into space for a television show, after acquiring rights to a new competition format.

Nederland 1 has become the first broadcaster to acquire Milky Way Mission (8×60′) from distributor Sony Pictures Television (SPT), in which contestants will compete to be sent into space.

The format sees 10 celebrities living in a boot camp where they undergo a rigorous and intensive training programme in preparation to become an astronaut. Each week, the celebs face a series of extreme physical and mental challenges to avoid elimination, with final rounds taking place at the launch site in Mojave, California.

SPT recently signed an agreement with Space Expedition Corporation (SXC), which is launching a space travel programme for civilians in 2014, to provide seats on its space flights to participating broadcasters.

The distributor will launch the format, created by Dutch firms Tuvalu Media and Simpel Media, at Mipcom next month.