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LONDON — Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Arabia has expanded its non-scripted production slate with three new shows and one returning series in Egypt, Lebanon and Dubai.
These deals follow SPT Arabia’s recent success delivering The Voice Arabia for MBC, which generated around 100 million viewers each week.
In Lebanon, SPT Arabia has closed a deal with Future TV to produce a new factual entertainment format called Sing It.
Created by Talpa, the first season is scheduled to run for 14 episodes and offers contestants the chance to express their emotions to another person through music – be it joy, despair, love or humor.
In Dubai, SPT Arabia will produce the territory’s first local version there of Millionaire Hot Seat, SPT’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? spin-off, after inking a 26 episode deal with national broadcaster Dubai Television.
The spin-off pits six contestants against each other with their only “lifeline” being the opportunity to pass on a question to the next competitor in line.
Meanwhile, two commissions have been inked by SPT Arabia with Egyptian broadcaster Al Hayat.
Al Hayat has renewed its deal for Millionaire Hot Seat, extending its run with 94 new episodes following the show’s successful launch in 2012. And SPT Arabia has also closed a deal to produce an Egyptian version of Let’s Make A Deal, the game show format owned by Fremantle and represented in the region by SPT.
SPT Arabia president Ziad Kebbi said: “We’ve [SPT Arabia] helped Arab broadcasters establish their own versions of some of the world’s biggest entertainment formats and our catalogue of home grown, Arab formats is building momentum in markets such as Lebanon and Egypt.”
SPT Arabia is a producer of scripted and non-scripted television across the MENA region.
SPT Arabia scripted ouput includes Arabic versions of Everybody Loves Raymond and Betty La Fea (Ugly Betty), as well as originals such as its Egyptian sitcom, Lessa Badry. Their non-scripted productions have included local versions of The Voice, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune and Who Wants to be a Millionaire?.
SPT Arabia was founded in November 2010 with offices in Dubai, Cairo and Beirut.
The company reps SPT’s extensive catalogue, as well as third parties, across twenty two countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
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