Tyrone Productions, the Belfast and Dublin-based production company, and FremantleMedia have sold the format to their TV dating show ‘Date with Fate’ to Ukrainian commercial broadcaster 1+1 Group.
‘Date with Fate’, which first aired on RTE in February, was created by Tyrone Productions as part of RTE’s Format Farm initiative and has attracted international interest since featuring at MIPTV 2013 in Cannes.
The concept of the programme requires participants to select a romantic partner based on photos digitally aged by 30 years – along with glimpses of their possible futures together and computer generated images of potential off-spring.
Noleen Golding, Executive Producer with Tyrone Productions, said: ‘We are blown away by the incredible reaction that we have received from the international market to ‘Date with Fate’. We believe that the ‘Date with Fate’ show format has universal appeal that entertains and engages audiences of all nationalities.’
The Ukrainian broadcaster is now producing ‘Date with Fate’ as part of a 12 part series of one hour shows, making it the first Format Farm programme to be in active production internationally.
Richard Williams, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Screen, expressed his delight at the news that the 1+1 Group had acquired the format.
‘This really underlines the importance of continuing to fund development within this very competitive arena. Northern Ireland Screen remains committed to the independent television sector in Northern Ireland and we will continue to seek opportunities to develop a vibrant and sustainable industry here,’ he said.
RTE’s ‘Format Farm’ aims to support Irish production companies in developing and piloting their original TV formats both for Irish audiences and international export.
