FremantleMedia makes great Hole in the Wall deal

Chinese public broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) is to produce a local version of entertainment format Hole in the Wall after striking a deal with FremantleMedia.

This is one of the first foreign formats to be produced by the broadcaster and follows a deal with MTV International to produce a local version of Nickelodeon kids gameshow Guts, which was produced locally as Tiao Zhan Xiao Yong Shi.

The show will air on the network’s main channel CCTV1 and will launch later this month as a weekly series.

Hole in the Wall, which was originally known as Human Tetris, is based on a Japanese format and was a segment of Fuji TV’s existing gameshow Tunnels’ Thanks For Everyone. It sees contestants bend their bodies for prizes. The show has already sold to a raft of international broadcasters including British public broadcaster the BBC, Australia’s Nine Network (Australia), Argentina’s Telefe and Cartoon Network in the United States.