MTVNI to bring back Singled Out, eyes Hills format deal

MTV Networks International is set to bring back popular dating gameshow Singled Out and is also about to ink a European format deal for its reality hit The Hills.

The distribution arm of the Viacom-owned broadcaster is ramping up its format sales division following the appointment of Caroline Beaton as SVP, programme sales.

Beaton, who was previously managing director of Carlton-owned format house Action Time, is about to close an option to remake The Hills in a “major European territory”. The show, which features Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag in Los Angeles, is produced by Adam DiVello’s Done and Done Productions.

The company is also set to revamp Singled Out, the show that launched Jenny McCarthy and ran between 1995 and 1998 on MTV as well as Five in the UK. It is also talking to international broadcasters about local versions of Important Things With Demitri Martin, which recently launched on E4 in the UK.

MTVNI is also confident of bringing The Colbert Report back to the UK after it was cancelled by pay broadcaster FX. “He’s coming back to the UK. We’re now working out how to make it relevant in the UK,” she adds.