Chinese production buys 6 Keshet TV formats

Shixi Media bought options on 'Eretz Nehederet,' 'Master Class,' 'Girlfri3nds,' and 3 other shows.

By LI-OR AVERBACH/GLOBES
Netanyahu at Eretz Nehedert filming 370 (photo credit: Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO)
Netanyahu at Eretz Nehedert filming 370
(photo credit: Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO)
A Chinese production company bought six TV formats from Channel 2 franchisee Keshet Media Group at the MIPTV festival in Cannes this week, including the format of Israeli satire show Eretz Nehedert ("It's a Wonderful Country").
The other TV formats purchased by Shixi Media are children's music talent show Master Class, dating reality show Girlfri3nds, entertainment show Big Ten, game show 50 Things You Have to Know and a new format launched at the festival called Remember Me.
"Keshet aims to cooperate with the best creative people in Asia to distribute our formats to Asia's rapidly growing television industry," Alon Shtruzman, the managing director of Keshet International, said.
Shixi Media is a production and distribution company that adapts formats to the Chinese market, and sells them for production. Shows are usually not sold for broadcasting in China until after extensive adaptation to the Chinese culture.
Remember Me is a docu-reality show, in which a person who has made a meaningful change in their life essentially goes back in time. They will undergo a reverse makeover to return to the life they once had, facing their former self and confronting peers from their past.
Big Ten is an entertainment show in which an unsuspecting honoree is invited to an evening with family, friends and surprise guests. A limited number of episodes have been aired in Israel with emcee Zvika Hadar.
Girlfri3nds has won great success on Britain's ITV2, which has signed for a second season. In January, the format was also sold to Prosiebensat.1 Media for broadcasting in Germany, Austria, Alto Adige, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.
Master Class is in the advanced production stage in Hungary, and will soon be aired. The show has been sold to Nice Entertainment Group for broadcasting in Norway and Sweden.
This deal follows a recent deal between Keshet International and China for the format The Heir, brokered by Red Arrow International.