The giant behind some of the biggest television shows in the world is finally in full operation in the Middle East with the imminent launch of the biggest outdoor reality show the region has ever witnessed.
Endemol Middle East, a network partner of Endemol International, aired its first show on Dubai TV in July, eight months after it was launched at Dubai Studio City. The €2.5 billion (Dh14.5bn) Dutch parent company has originated such hit programmes as Big Brother, Deal or No Deal and Fear Factor.
"Endemol Middle East was set up in November 2007, and is now fully operational across the Middle East with two office locations in Dubai and Beirut," Ziad Kebbi, Managing Director, Endemol Middle East, told Emirates Business. "We have already licensed several formats to the main players in the Arabic broadcast world, and are now actively producing them.
"The first show to launch was an Arabic version of The Kids are Alright, produced for Dubai TV and is currently airing."
However, it is the company's second show – which was actually its first licence agreement in the UAE – that is already grabbing headlines. Highly anticipated game show Ton of Cash is to debut on Abu Dhabi TV after Ramadan – one year after the initial deal was announced. The major Emirati television network has commissioned 15 episodes, as well as 84 daily updates of the show, in which contestants have to drag a tonne of prize money through various obstacles. The format of the show was originally devised by Endemol UK.
"Ton of Cash is the biggest outdoor reality show to be produced in the region shot in two countries: the UAE and Oman," Kebbi continued. "It revolves around two teams having to haul a tonne of cash across diverse landscapes and overcome a number of naturally occurring obstacles in order to win. This is an exciting new format with a clever spin – the prize itself becomes the burden."
Over 200 crew members were involved in its production, which is also among the largest shows ever produced in the region.
Having a permanent base here has certainly allowed Endemol International to gain more control of its programmes, because it is now able to make its own shows rather than sell formats to third parties. Formats previously sold in the region include Lebanese Broadcasting Channel (LBC)'s Star Academy, and El Wadi (The Farm), as well as Deal or No Deal and Mada El Haya (Set for Life) to MBC.
Although Kebbi refuses to disclose the amount of money invested in Ton of Cash, he reveals that the gameshow is one of three new programmes set to premiere on the Emirati capital's television station.
"Abu Dhabi TV was at a turning point late last year as it was laying out a strategy to become one the main television players in the region, so approaching Endemol for original content was a natural choice, given its experience and global role in the entertainment industry," he said. "A deal was struck with the channel to produce three formats. And Ton of Cash is one of them."
Endemol International was founded in 1994 by a merger of television production companies owned by Joop van den Ende and John de Mol, the name deriving from the combination of their surnames. The television production company, which is based in The Netherlands, has subsidiaries and joint ventures in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Brazil, Australia and South Africa. In the first half of 2007, turnover increased by 24.4 per cent to €642.8m in comparison to €516.6m in the first half of 2006, according to company figures. In terms of genres, Endemol enjoyed a 17.6 per cent increase in the non-scripted category, and a 34.2 per cent increase in digital media. Growth was especially impressive in the company's scripted genre, which achieved an increase of 63.3 per cent.
But as audiences complain of reality fatigue, and shows are cancelled in other parts of the world, how important is reality television in the Emirates and elsewhere in the Middle East? Can it make enough money over here to continue growing? The answer is a definite yes, according to Kebbi.
"Reality TV has become an established television genre around the world, and the Middle East has embraced that genre in full. Plus, it generates substantial ratings for a raft of channels in the region," he explained. "With regards to making money and generating revenues from a production such as Ton of Cash, it is simply a show with a bigger production budget, and for the broadcasters it offers multiple exploitation streams."
This month, the Australian partner of Endemol International, Endemol Southern Star suffered a downfall after it announced it was pulling the plug on Big Brother after eight years.
The news came after its weekday ratings, fell a whopping 16.5 per cent. Even former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson couldn't save the show, after she joined the housemates for a period of time. According to analysts Goldman Sachs JBWere, it is estimated that the Australian version of Big Brother cost around $30m this year, which accounts for more than two-thirds of Endemol Southern Star's net profits.
Kebbi is confident the same wouldn't happen with Endemol Middle East, because the region's target audience is different and bigger. "In the Middle East, the demand for reality TV is in line with Europe at the moment," he said.
And although he "refrains from answering for the time being" whether the company has been approached for a Middle Eastern version of Big Brother, he says that the current boom in Arabic channels in the region is certainly "one of the reasons why Endemol has set up a local company".
Giving away some of the biggest cash prizes will also certainly attract viewers' attention. He added: "Prize money is the main driver to fuel the competitive spirit of contestants. Our current activity is mainly concentrated in the free-to-air TV market, so we are attracting a huge number of viewers from across the region.
"We're planning to establish Endemol Middle East as the leading content originator and creator, as well as the region's leading production company," he said. "Our plan now is to continue expanding the business."
The numbers
€2.5bn: Endemol International's current worth, according to endemol.com
€642.8m: The amount Endemol International made in the first half of last year in comparison to €516.6m in the first half of 2006
Endemol's top 10 shows according to turnover
1. Big Brother. Twelve people strangers live together for approximately 100 days in a fenced-off compound. On a regular basis, the participants are required to nominate two or more housemates. By voting, the viewers decide who will have to leave the house immediately. The last person to leave the house is the winner.
2. Fear Factor. Over the course of three days, six contestants compete against each other in three stunts designed to test them both physically and mentally to their absolute limits. Stunts vary from a tight rope-walk between skyscrapers, to a blind scramble through a rat-infested underground tunnel. Whoever wins the final stunt walks away with the big prize.
3. Participation TV. ParticipationTV is the first show of its kind to be funded entirely by the people who watch it. Callers ring in to take part in games, and their calls pay for the entire cost of the production.
4. Extreme Makeover. Home Edition. In a race against time on a project that would ordinarily take four months to achieve, a team of designers and 100 workmen have just seven days to completely renovate an entire house – every single room – plus the exterior and landscaping.
5. Deal or No Deal. A contestant faces 26 cash boxes, containing cheques varying from a measly amount to millions. They choose six boxes, revealing cheques of different values. As each one is opened, the likelihood of the contestant having a high valued cheque in his own box decreases or increases. Then the banker offers the player an amount of money in exchange for his cash box.
6. Who Wants to be a Millionaire? One of the biggest quiz shows of our time, the aim of the game is to answer 15 general knowledge, multiple-choice questions and the incredible top prize is yours. Along the way there are "safe havens" for accumulated prizes and three Lifelines to help contestants pile up the cash.
7. Operación Triunfo. This talent show gives 16 wannabes the opportunity to show the world they have what it takes to become a famous singer. Aged between 19 and 26, they do their very best to prove that they deserve to win the ultimate prize – a glittering career as a pop star. Music producers, stylists and national celebrities guide and educate them in all the skills necessary to become stars.
8. The Farm. Six women and six men are thrown together to survive as farmers without any luxuries. The competitors begin their new lives before dawn, abandoned in a deep, dense forest in one of the most remote parts of the country. Over 10 weeks, viewers follow the participants' lives together on the primitive and isolated farm in daily half-hour episodes.
9. Star Academy. Twelve candidates, aged between 16 and 19, live together in a specially designed Star Academy. Here they are trained for 12 weeks by a crack team of professionals, whose ultimate goal is to create a new six-piece boy/girl band. National and international celebrities also come by to share their experiences in this quest for stardom. In LBC's version, they create a star and not a band.
10. Cronicas Marcianas. Current affairs, humour and entertainment are the key ingredients of this late night talk show. Awarded the Silver Rose at the Rose D'Or Festival 1998, this programme comprises witty sketches and a completely new format in the debate and interview genre.