Nippon TV & The Story Lab open new windows on co-development with a hybrid game-show-talent contest that premiered in Japan at the end of September and makes its global debut at Mipcom.

Japanese commercial broadcaster Nippon TV and The Story Lab, the global content unit of Japanese agency Dentsu Aegis/Dentsu Inc, are making a new play for global audiences, combining game show elements with talent contest jeopardy in a combo they hope will open another window of opportunity on global co-development. 

The new format, 9 Windows, is the first property out of the alliance that the two companies announced in December last year, and was chosen from dozens of ideas gathered by the two companies. Nippon TV will sell the format in Asia. The Story Lab will start selling international rights at Mipcom 2020. 

The studio series is billed as a gameshow-meets-talent contest “celebrating ordinary people with outlandish skills”, including activities like building architectural landmarks from jelly or blowing out candles. Episode themes can include anything from make-up to music. Activities play out on an interactive set, that opens windows to contestants in their homes. Across three rounds, the contestants compete for a cash prize.

Japanese comedian Gekidan Hitori hosts the domestic show. The addition of a comedian as host is part of the format. “We are dealing with contestants who are not yet in the spotlight,” says Shigeko (Cindy) Chino, Nippon TV’s associate managing director of international business development. “The comedian MC has the charm to maximise the results from them... and to bring out their appeal,” she adds.  

The Japanese version premiered on Nippon TV in Japan in the experimental 1am-2am slot on 24 Sept. The show outperformed its competition in the timeslot, with share for  household and individual viewership hitting 23.5%, according to Nippon TV data. Episode two aired at end Sept; no decisions had been made at presstime on a regular ongoing series slot.  

The two companies are in discussion on additional original entertainment format co-developments that are scalable creatively and commercially and returnable across multiple territories; no details have been released. 

The Story Lab alliance is part of Nippon TV’s ongoing international efforts. 9 Windows follows Block Out, a format based on a Nippon TV game show segment redeveloped with European producer Red Arrow Studios, as well as titles such as Battle of the Homes, Supper Stars and The Test. 

So far, Block Out has been adapted in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Spain and Holland.

9 Windows is part of The Story Lab’s fledgling international expansion initiatives in Asia, along with The Sound, co-developed with China’s Hunan TV. 

The Story Lab’s global executive vice president for entertainment, Fotini  Paraskakis, says international markets – particularly in Western Europe and more recently in the U.S. and the U.K. – are more open than ever to ideas out of Asia. 

This is partly because of the international success of Korea’s Masked Singer and I Can See Your Voice, but also because creators across Asia are more confident. 

“Efforts that have been put into international development in the past two years are paying off,” she says. 
Covid-19 has also opened a broader set of windows. “Now more than ever, broadcasters are looking for shows with a fast track to screen,” Paraskakis says. 


Published in ContentAsia's Issue Three 2020, October 2020