Banijay acquired two titles from Korean companies: the relationship format, Exchange from CJ ENM,and an innovative title from MBC,Bloody Game.
As an original format from CJ ENM’s SVOD platform TVING, Exchange launched last year and showed continuous growth of UV every time new episodes were released and became the highest-viewed show on the platform among the entire slate of original content.
TVING also recorded the highest number of paid subscribers with the show’s release. ExchangeS1 was particularly popular amongst younger viewers and went viral on SNS, leading to a second series order. Banijay will represent them across the Nordics, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Australia.
As for Bloody Game, the deal will see UK-based company representingit in nine countries across Europe, with potential to be adapted in France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands.The series launched in Korea in November last year, drawing subscribers to OTT channel WAVVE, who partnered with MBC on the show.
Bloody Game has just been nominated for a C21 Format Award, with the winner revealed at MIPTV in Cannes. Also at the market, Carlotta Rossi Spencer, head of acquisitions, Banijay,spoke on the FRAPASummit panel “The Rise of International Partnerships and Co-Productions”.
‘This relationship format has unbounded potential, it’s a truly authentic show catering for a younger audience who long for real feelings and genuine love stories. CJ ENM has created numerous engaging formats which add twists to popular tropes, and Exchange is a prime example’, she underlined.
‘And Bloody Game brings the much-admired creativity of recent Korean dramas to the unscripted world. It is a bold show which explores important themes. It’s always brilliant to partner with producers around the world and bring their content to the global marketplace’, she added.
Diane Min, Head of Format Sales at CJ ENM, said: ‘We are excited to work with Banijay to bring EXchange to multiple markets, one of our biggest and most successful non-scripted launches last year. This is a relatable format primarily dealing with love and relationships, which ordinary people experience throughout life’s journey’.
Jean Hur, Director of Format Sales at MBC, concluded: ‘There are numerous survival formats out there, but MBC’s Bloody Game is above the rest, packed with unique twists to absorb viewers in each episode and action which unfolds beyond anything you could imagine.We hope the show will follow the global path of other Korean formats which have travelled the world’.
