Southern TV to launch Chinese Cash Cab

Chinese broadcaster Southern TV is to produce a local version of All3Media International gameshow format Cash Cab.

The deal is the first agreement by the British-owned distributor directly with a Chinese broadcaster.

Southern TV will produce 65 episodes of the show – known locally Kuaile Yaoqing Cash Cab – in the Guandong Province in Mandarin and Cantonese. All3Media International’s Lucy Heaven is acting as in-house production consultant for the show and Beijing-based media consultancy CMM-I helped broker the deal.

The format, which has been produced in over 50 territories, follows members of the public who jump into a taxi to find themselves in the middle of a quiz show.

Yu Ruijin, vice president, Southern TV, said: “We are thrilled to have found in Cash Cab a top programme for the first international format acquisition in the history of our network, and to have found in All3Media International a top partner for making this programme successful in China. We are excited to bring this worldwide format to audiences in China.”

“We are delighted to be working with Southern TV China on this, their first ever international format acquisition. It has been a very positive production experience as their team has brought a huge amount of commitment, passion, energy and drive to making this format work successfully in their country, and we are confident that this wonderful production will be well received by their audience,” added Stephanie Hartog, EVP, international formats, All3Media International.