Pan-African pay-TV broadcaster M-Net is taking its hit South African reality formats Duet Date, Way of the Warrior, and Piano Piano to NATPE Budapest 2012, which runs from 26 to 28 June in Hungary.
Says Mandy Roger, M-Net head of Sales, Acquisition and Business Development: “NATPE Budapest is an incredibly important event for M-Net as a platform to showcase high-quality content to the global market. The African TV industry has expertise in producing hit entertainment shows across a range of genres and we are looking to transfer this expertise to the development of exciting new formats that can travel and enjoy success internationally. Having taken our first format, Piano Piano to MIPTV in April it is exciting to be able to build on this by taking not just one but a catalogue of formats to NATPE Budapest.’
Duet Date (13 x 26’) is a new dating and entertainment format in which an audience of singles performs karaoke. The contestants are chosen by a roving microphone and after a quick solo they are paired together by a celebrity guest. The two couples then compete against each other by performing romantic duets in order to win a luxury date. They perform songs chosen by the “Duet Date Jukebox’ in front of a studio audience, who choose the winning pair. Each episode will also take a look back at how the previous winners’ date went to see if it was all harmony or discord.
Way of the Warrior (13 x 48’) was developed by Gathered Moss Productions on behalf of M-Net. The show follows a group of 13 couch potatoes who seek to transform their lazy lives and bodies through the power of Muay Thai martial arts. The contestants are trained by a Muay Thai expert who teaches them all about discipline and self-motivation whilst providing them with key martial arts fighting skills. Each week the contestants nominate a fighter to get in the ring and fight the loser of the weekly activity challenge. The series culminates with a “fight night’ spectacular in front of a live audience to decide the final winner.
Piano Piano (13×30’), already a hit Afrikaans series, is inspired by the ragtime piano players of the 1890s, who competed in piano playing duels. In each episode a talented and entertaining “Resident Pianist’ is challenged by a musical opponent to take part in a piano duel over the course of three rounds. The pianists are later joined in the studio by a celebrity guest, who tests their own skills by taking part.
Other titles in M-Net’s format catalogue include: To Be Continued (13 x 48’ and 13 x 26’), a new reality competition series where colourful people with interesting lives compete to win their own reality show. Television experts teach the viewer to think like a TV producer, and the viewers’ votes decide which shows are continued and which shows are canned; Comedy Character (13 x 48’) which features eight “larger-than-life’ characters, created by the country’s top comic writers and performed by the most recognised comic actors.
The characters compete in sketches, in front of a live studio audience and the viewers at home vote for who stays in the game. The winning “Comedy Character’ at the end of the series will star in a feature film; and Pop Part (13×48’), a brand new reality talent competition where contestants don’t only audition to be in a pop group; they audition for a specific role. The participants will battle to become; Sexy, Square, Street, Shy or Slick, with the general public deciding who wins each role in Pop Part.
