Banijay Rights has closed its first international format deal on Let’s Play Ball, with Bell Media’s Crave on board for a French-Canadian version.
The physical comedy game show was co-developed by Banijay Benelux’s EndemolShine Nederland, Talpa Studios, and Signal.Stream. It was co-produced by EndemolShine Nederland and Signal.Stream for SBS6 after first being piloted on StukTV, where it drew more than 1.2 million views. It became SBS6’s strongest new launch of the year for the 25 to 44 demo, prompting a second season renewal for this year. It is currently in development in the U.K. with Banijay UK’s Initial and Zeppotron, and in the U.S. with Bunim/Murray Productions.
The Crave edition, with 10 60-minute episodes, is being produced by Sphere Media.
“Let’s Play Ball is a bold, highly visual format with universal appeal, combining larger-than-life, laugh-out-loud comedy with a healthy dose of competition,” said Jane Rimer, SVP for Canada at Banijay Rights. “Securing our first international deal for Let’s Play Ball with Bell Media here in Quebec is a fantastic milestone, and we cannot wait to partner with Bell Media again to bring this uniquely entertaining format to life for French-Canadian audiences.”
Suzane Landry, VP for content development, programming, and news for Quebec at Bell Media, said: “We are confident the Quebec adaptation of the new Rocamboulesque format will captivate our audiences and establish itself as must-watch TV thanks to its humor and originality.”
