Warner Bros builds on Japan formats

Warner Bros International Television Production (WBITVP) has hooked up with a Japanese broadcaster to create global entertainment formats.

Andrew Zein

The deal will see WBITVP developing TV Asahi’s formats catalogue for the international market. At least one format from the broadcaster’s current entertainment slate or library will be reproduced as an English-language pilot each year.

WBITVP will take on distribution to each format in the US, Europe and Latin America, with Asahi retaining rights in Asia. The first fruits of the partnership will launch at MipTV in April.

The new deal strengthens ties between the two companies, as WBITVP already distributes TV Asahi formats such as celebrity panel show Ranking the Stars, which has been sold into the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Sweden, Korea, India and Lithuania.

“Japanese TV shows are full of great ideas and original concepts. The Japanese have a unique approach to entertainment. Many of the programmes have the potential to work internationally,” said WBITVP’s senior VP of creative, format development and sales Andrew Zein.

“I am looking forward to working with WBITVP to further extend the value of our programmes,” said TV Asahi’s senior executive director Ikuo Kamiyama.

WBITVP has recently struck deals with broadcasters in Belgium, Holland and the UK for new pranks format Impractical Jokers and the US’s Outline Productions.