“SMARTEST PERSON” TELEVISION FORMAT HEADING TO SPAIN
Globomedia Acquires Media Headquarters and CBC’s Competition Format for TVE
TORONTO (April 9, 2019) – Media Headquarters announced today it has licensed its hit studio competition format Canada’s Smartest Person to Spanish production company Globomedia. Globomedia will produce a 10-part series for broadcaster TVE. The Spanish adaptation is currently in pre-production and slated to air later this year.
“We are thrilled to have a new international adaptation of ‘Smartest Person’ for TVE in Spain,” said Robert Cohen, CEO of Media Headquarters. “This format has a universal appeal. With its spectacular challenges, it’s a whole new way of looking at smarts that’s entertaining and fun to play along with. No matter where in the world you live, the series proves there’s much more to being smart than trivia or IQ.”
Canada’s Smartest Person, produced by Media Headquarters in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), is one of Canada’s most successful original formats. The series has run for four seasons on CBC and was a finalist for Canada’s Golden Screen Award for the country’s highest rated reality program. The format has already proven to be a global success with deals in 15 territories including three adaptations produced to date in Finland (MTV3), Argentina (El trece) and Turkey (TRT). Canada’s Smartest Person Junior, a spin-off of the format, premiered on CBC in fall 2018 and was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Reality/Competition Series.
“Canada’s Smartest Person is a show where knowledge and mental ability are as important as other abilities,” said Javier Pons, Managing Director, Globomedia (The Mediapro Studio). “This show is able to gather the whole family in front of the TV and that’s exactly what we were looking for. We are happy to produce a version for Spain and hope for the same success the other international versions have experienced.”
“CBC is committed to investing in original formats with broad appeal to audiences in Canada and around the world like Canada’s Smartest Person, which travels well because of its unique and engaging take on what it means to be smart,” said Jennifer Dettman, Executive Director, Unscripted Content, CBC. “We’re pleased to see the format brought to even more international audiences through this new partnership.”
Canada’s Smartest Person is a thrilling format that redefines what it means to be smart. Inspired by the Theory of Multiple Intelligence, competitors battle it out on mind-bending challenges in six categories: musical, physical, social, logical, visual and linguistic. To earn the title, competitors must prove they have smarts in every category.
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About Canada’s Smartest Person
Canada’s Smartest Person is original Media Headquarters format developed and produced in association with CBC. The series Executive Producer and Creator is Robert Cohen. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Programming; Jennifer Dettman is Executive Director, Unscripted Content; and Susan Taylor is Executive in Charge of Production. Media Headquarters, now part of Kew Media Group, retains the international rights.
About Media Headquarters
Media Headquarters is a leading Canadian television and digital media production company founded by executive producer Robert Cohen. The company is recognized worldwide for producing popular and innovative original content. Media Headquarters’ productions have earned dozens of international awards and the company has been recognized by Realscreen’s ‘Global 100’ List celebrating the world’s best non-fiction producers for seven years in a row. Media Headquarters specializes in the creation of documentary, reality, competition, lifestyle and scripted programming. For more information visit www.mediahqs.ca.
About Globomedia (The Mediapro Studio)
Globomedia is a leading television fiction producer in Spain, responsible for titles such as “Locked Up”, “I’m Alive”, “The Accident”, “Red Eagle”, “The Boarding School” and “Lifeline”, and programmes including “El Intermedio”, “Zapeando” and “The Comedy Club”. The producer’s portfolio includes an impressive list of flagship programmes and formats including “Médico de Familia” (1995), “Caiga quien caiga” (1996), “7 Lives” (1999), “Aida” (2005), “Un paso adelante” (2002), “The Serranos” (2003) and “59 seconds” (2004). Similarly, the company is a benchmark in original content creation in the current affairs humour genre. Moreover, Globomedia fiction projects are present in over 125 countries, with particular relevance in Europe. Adaptations and original versions of their hit series in Spain have had similar success on networks worldwide.
For more information, contact:
Ali Seller (for Media Headquarters)
647.350.8422
Ginger Betrand (for Media Headquarters)
647.350.8422