#formatbiz

at Natpe Europe during the conference about Global TV Formats-What's hot and what's not? Keri Lewis Brown MD of K7 said:" Stop looking for a big, game-changing format. It’s not going to happen". Sue also told delegates that company consolidation and shrinking development periods and budgets means there will never be a dominant new format in the style of Big Brother or Pop Idol again. Instead, the formats business will be made up of a variety of interesting medium-sized shows. She said: “I don’t think it’s a problem. The lack of a single stand-out format is healthy and reflects the broader nature of television today.”

Eccho Rights, the Stockholm based distributor, has secured broadcast deals for Cherry Season with Canale Cinque in Italy, TV Puls in Poland and Hub Media in Malaysia Cherry Season is already on air in Poland and Malaysia. While in Italy it will be the first Turkish drama to air in the country, with the show premiering on 7th July. Cherry Season from Surec Films is a story of love, ambition and betrayal set in the glossy world of high fashion. Ökyü is a young, aspiring fashion designer with serious love problems and a meddling friend who may just stop her amibtions. The series was the most popular show in Turkey this season achieving a 32% share with six million viewers. Nicola Söderlund, managing partner at Eccho Rights, says, “Turkish drama continues to be a big hit across the globe and it is no surprise that these two territories have taken this show. “Cherry Season is an excellent example of the quality of drama in Turkey as shown by the impressive audience figures for this season.” Eccho Rights has already sold Cherry Season to ARY Digital Network in Pakistan, VTV in Vietnam and Tring TV in Albania

The second edition of NATPE Europe in Hilton Prague, Czech Republic, starts today, June 23, after a quite good previous conference day, held yesterday in the  afternoon. The figures provided by the organization show that the market is stable in terms of attendance, buyers and sellers, compared to last years. There are in Prague more than 250 buyers, with newcomers from Slovakia, Spain and Chile, as well as 139 exhibiting companies from 27 countries - 33 attend for the first time. NATPE has established 30 sponsorships and partnerships. (@EL Prensario Fabricio Ferrara)