Japan’s TBS buys Take Me Out

Japanese commercial broadcaster Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) is set to produce a local version of dating gameshow Take Me Out after striking a format deal with FremantleMedia.

The deal is significant as Japanese broadcasters rarely commission international formats. FremantleMedia says that this is the first local adaptation of an international format for three years.

Take Me Out Japan will air later this month, beginning as a 90 minute special and will then air as a 30 minute weekly series.

The dating series was developed by FremantleMedia France but local broadcasters wouldn’t commission the show. It was then picked up by Network Ten in Australia and has since travelled to broadcasters in Holland, Denmark, Finland, Indonesia and Britain’s ITV.

Rob Clark, president, FremantleMedia Worldwide Entertainment, told TBIvision, that the show has succeeded because it doesn’t take itself too seriously. “The format is very simple, hence why it’s a success. It’s the process you through when you walk into a bar full of girls,” he adds.