In a move that suggests a rapid consolidation of its unscripted format operations for the international market, European TV giant Mediapro has sold U.S. adaptation rights to dating show “Forever or Never” to 44 Blue Productions, a Red Arrow Studios company.
Produced and developed by Mediapro in partnership with Phileas Productions, a Madrid-based entertainment formats creator, “Forever or Never” has also been sold in France to Ah Production, part of Satisfaction – The Television Agency, and to Talpa Middle East for the MENA region.
Satisfaction has also acquired factual entertainment format “Never Far Away” for France, and further deals in other territories will be announced soon, Mediapro said in a statement.
Both unscripted formats, “Forever or Never” and “Never Far Away,” are co-distributed by Phileas Productions and Imagina International Sales, Mediapro’s world sales agent.
Highlighted last year as among the most original formats at Cannes’ Mipcom by TV research company The Wit, “Forever or Never” takes participants to the future to decide their present.
Candidates will have the opportunity to see into the future and meet their potential life partners not just as they are now, but as they could be three times their age, then twice their age. Only then, if they have liked what they have seen, they face the present.
“We’re excited to be bringing the fun and very relatable format ‘Forever or Never’ to the U.S. market,” said Dan Snook, SVP of Development at 44 Blue Productions.
“In today’s swipe till you like dating culture, taking a second to slow down and have older generations involved brings a lot of laughs to something everyone can relate to,” he added.
“Never Far Away” is a factual entertainment format that will help people who are far away like military personnel abroad, immigrants or fishermen to live with their loved ones the most special celebrations and moments of their lives.
The program will use distance as an essential part of their celebrations achieving extraordinary and unforgettable experience for them and their loved ones working simultaneously in two different places on earth.
Further deals on “Never Far Away” will be announced soon, Mediapro added.
With 54 offices distributed across four continents, Mediapro has become a diversified global leader in the creation, production and distribution of multimedia contents, taking in scripted TV, for which it’s signed development or production deals (David Simon, Paolo Sorrentino) or hired international talents (Ran Tellem,, Daniel Burman) and struck co-production pacts on one-off-projects (Amazon, Netflix, Viacom, Disney, Vice Studios) or co-production alliances (Turner, Televisa).
In May 2016, Mediapro tapped Emmy Award winning producer Ran Tellem (“Homeland,” “Boom!”) as head of international content development, and shortly after established an alliance to develop unscripted TV formats with Phileas Productions, whose first fruit was gameshow “Crush,” nabbed by NBCUniversal for international distribution.