Endemol Shine, CJ E&M create formats pact

Global producer Endemol Shine Group and South Korea’s CJ E&M have created a large-scale international coproduction pact.

This will see the pair jointly creating, producing and distributing formats and series for the international market, with all intellectual property equally shared.

They have already invested in an original non-scripted series, which CJ E&M has committed to broadcasting in primetime on one of its key channels and Endemol Shine International will shop on the global market.

Endemol Shine’s key formats include MasterChef, Big Brother (Big Brother Italy pictured above) and The Money Drop, while CJ E&M is behind Grandpas Over Flowers, which is being remade globally.

DJ Lee, president of media content business at CJ E&M, and Endemol Shine’s managing director of Asian operations, Fotini Paraskakis, will lead the partnership.

“The commitment by both our companies at the highest level and the fact that we are already able to confirm a prime time series for international distribution sets this deal apart,” said Endemol Shine CEO Sophie Turner Laing. “The Korean market is among the most vibrant and creative in the Asia region and CJ E&M is at the forefront of content creation and innovation there.”

CJ E&M CEO Sungsu Kim described the pact as “an ideal match” and added: “We believe our partnership is sure to create exciting new content that will engage audiences in markets all over the world.”

The deal comes after Endemol Shine recently licensed CJ E&M format I Can See Your Voice for distribution outside of Asia. The Korean firm has also scored deals with the likes of NBC and ITV Studios in recent years.

Endemol Shine claims it is now the largest content producer in Asia, with more than 50 series on air across the region in 2015. These include local versions of Your Face Sounds Familiar, Big Brother and MasterChef, the latter of which recently launched pan-regionally on A+E Networks Asia’s Lifetime channel.