PRESS RELEASES
February 19, 2019

BBC Studios Latin America Signs Its First Format Deal in Peru

Based on the popular British format Great Britons, Grandes Peruanos will air on public television on TV Perú and Canal IPe

Miami, FL – BBC Studios announced its first format deal in Peru, a broadcast agreement with IRTP (National Institute of Radio and Television Peru) that will bring Grandes Peruanos, a series based on the original British format Great Britons, to the country’s public broadcast television via TV Perú and Canal IPe.

In this unique series, the audience itself will nominate and select the individual who, in its opinion, should be recognized as the greatest Peruvian of all time.  Viewers will choose among a wide assortment of national icons, including historical figures such as aviation hero José Abelardo Quiñones and Admiral Miguel Grau, the Navy commander who defended Peru in the War of the Pacific; sports legends like Teófilo Cubillas, considered the best Peruvian soccer player of the twentieth century; and acclaimed artists poet César Vallejo and folk singer and composer Chabuca Granda, best known for the classic “La Flor de la Canela.”  Grandes Peruanos will premiere in the first half of 2020.

The format has been sold to 27 countries since the original British version launched on BBC in 2002.  In the UK, national audiences voted after six months to name Sir Winston Churchill the greatest Briton in history.  In the Argentine version of the series, independence hero José de San Martín prevailed over Juan Manuel Fangio and René Favaloro, while French audiences gave their country’s top honor to Charles de Gaulle, with Louis Pasteur in second place.  Interestingly, Czech viewers looked back to the fourteenth century to elect Emperor Karel IV, while Chileans opted for Salvador Allende, the country’s first socialist president.

Great Britons is just one of many formats available at Showcase 2019, the annual BBC Studios event highlighting British creativity. This year’s Showcase features the latest trends, a broad range of selections from the company’s program portfolio, and exclusive previews of up-and-coming BBC Studios productions. The four-day event will be held in Liverpool beginning Sunday, February 17 through Wednesday, February 20.

The BBC Studios unscripted formats presented at Showcase 2019 include My Big Day: Home or Away, where top wedding planners compete to convince a couple that they have the perfect vision for their big day.  Also new to the scene is One Hot Summer, an innovative, social-first series that follows young people on a month-long holiday of a lifetime. One Hot Summer isn’t a popularity contest. It’s about real people meeting for the first time, and different worldviews colliding in one extraordinary experience.  It’s a unique experiment that puts the ‘real’ back in reality TV.

In addition to this wide variety of new content, BBC Studios will continue to offer well-known formats as Dancing with the Stars, Curious Creatures, Phone Dater and The Great Bake Off.

About BBC Studios

BBC Studios, a global content company with British creativity at its heart, is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. Formed in April 2018 by the merger of BBC Worldwide and BBC Studios, it spans content financing, development, production, sales, branded services, and ancillaries. BBC Studios’ award-winning British programs are internationally recognized across a broad range of genres and specialties. It has offices in 22 markets globally, including seven production bases in the UK and production bases and partnerships in a further nine countries around the world. The company, which makes over 2,500 hours of content a year, is a champion for British creativity around the world and a committed partner for the UK’s independent sector.

In the Americas, BBC Studios’ operates two production units – one in Los Angeles, responsible for ratings juggernaut and Emmy®-nominated Dancing with the Stars and multi-award-winning Life Below Zero, and the other in Brazil, where local productions Dancing Brasil and Bake Off Brasil have become breakout hits. The company manages joint venture relationships with AMC Networks for flagship channel BBC AMERICA (U.S.) – home of original series Killing Eve and global brands Dynasties, Doctor Who, and Top Gear – and with ITV for SVoD service BritBox (U.S./Canada), as well as strategic partnerships in Canada with Blue Ant Media for BBC Earth Channel and Corus for BBC Canada.

About BBC Studios Showcase

  • BBC Studios sells programmes and secures content financing on behalf of the BBC and UK independent producers
  • BBC Studios is the biggest distributor of TV content outside of the US studios and Britain’s largest and most awarded TV production company with seven bases in the UK as well as production bases and partnerships in a further nine countries around the world.
  • BBC Studios Showcase is the world’s largest international TV market to be hosted by a single distributor
  • Hundreds of TV buyers, along with British TV executives, producers and financiers, attend BBC Studios Showcase which is in its 43rd year
  • Attended by A list on and off screen talent and some of Britain’s most successful creatives in the TV industry, BBC Studios Showcase brings together an array of Britain’s top executives from the BBC and the independent production community
  • With hundreds of digi booths available at Showcase, buyers collectively screen over 4000 hours of content during the four days
  • There will be co-production forums, masterclasses with major talent and insight sessions on global trends at BBC Studios Showcase along with premieres covering drama, natural history, music, comedy, science, history, documentaries, formats and factual entertainment

Key Slate Synopses
My Big Day: Home or Away 50’
Two top wedding planners compete to convince a couple that they have the perfect vision for their big day. One has planned a beautiful wedding at home. The other has designed a fabulous wedding in an exotic location. Follow the couple as they consider all the options and choose between two different dream weddings. And watch as they tie the knot at their chosen location, in front of their family and friends. Both wedding planners will stop at nothing to win. Will the happy couple choose a home-grown wedding or sun-kissed nuptials?

A COCO TV production for RTÉ Television. Distributed by BBC Studios

One Hot Summer 30’
This innovative social-first series follows young people on a month-long holiday of a lifetime. Different friendship groups come together in one big gang of holiday-makers. As the varied groups meet each other, they’re forced out of their comfort zones – discovering new friendships and learning more about themselves. One Hot Summer isn’t a popularity contest. It’s about real people meeting for the first time, and different worldviews colliding in one extraordinary experience. Will they bond or break? It’s a unique experiment that puts the ‘real’ back in reality TV.

A BBC Studios Production

WonderBall 30’ or 60’
Imagine playing a lottery where you really don’t want your numbers to be picked. Welcome to WonderBall – a game that demands excellent quiz skills and nerves of steel. Three pairs of players each start with five numbered balls. As balls are drawn randomly, they answer questions to eliminate their opponents’ balls and keep their own in play. The last ball remaining – the WonderBall – wins a big money jackpot. But there’s a tantalising twist. Along the way, the host offers teams guaranteed cash in exchange for their balls. Will they hold out in the hope of winning the jackpot, even if it means leaving with nothing?

A Mighty production for BBC

Couples on the Couch 45’
Open relationships. Porn addiction. Sexual anxiety. In Couples on the Couch, real-life couples bring their sexual and emotional issues to a specially created clinic. Discover intimate secrets, personal fears and uncomfortable truths as the couples get to the heart of their issues in revealing therapy sessions. Can they save their relationships? Or is it time to go their separate ways? With genuine warmth and shareable moments, this is an eye-opening insight into the complex world of modern relationships.

A BBC Studios production

The Dementia Choir 50’
Music therapy can change the lives of dementia patients and those who care for them. In this format, a popular personality recruits people with dementia to form a dementia choir. And experts from the fields of medicine, music therapy and performance are on hand to nurture and rehearse with them.

These are stories where personal achievements meet breaking science. Advanced brain scans and revelatory experiments uncover the miraculous effects that playing and listening to music can have on the brain. The shared journey culminates in a huge public performance at a major event. Will it all come together on the night?

A Curve Media production for BBC

Press Contacts:

Lee Leschasin
Lee.leschasin@bbc.com
+44 (0)208 433 1324

Sandra Lee Caló
SandraLee.Calo@bbc.com
+1 305 461 6982