Banijay Wins Real Time Game Show Deal

Banijay International has acquired production rights to the high adrenaline real-time game show, MOMENTUM, for Banijay Group production companies in France and Scandinavia.
The deal struck with show creators Notional and Ben Silverman’s Electus/EngineDistribution will see Banijay Group’s Air Productions produce a 60-minute pilot for France 2, to be hosted by the hugely popular French host and Air Prod head Nagui.
Karoline Spodsberg, Managing Director of Banijay International said “This acquisition underlines our strategy to cherry-pick the best properties on the international market to be produced locally by the Group companies. The match between the format we find and our local production company in terms of their competencies and market position is paramount.
"We are very focused in our acquisitions and only pursue formats where this match is clear.”
Notional President, Dave Noll states, “I am extremely excited about our partners for MOMENTUM. At Notional we are constantly trying to take Game Show conventions that translate globally, contemporize them, and in some cases bring them into the future. With MOMENTUM I am confident we’ve cracked a format that can run for the next 30 years.”
Eli Shibley, Director of Development of International Formats for Electus, shares the same sentiment, “We couldn’t be more excited to work with the Banijay team in bringing MOMENTUM to France and the Nordics.
"With a host of hits including CHOPPED, LOVE SONG, and now MOMENTUM, Notional has proven that approaching development with an internationally borderless perspective not only creates relatable concepts but incredibly compelling television and these shows are only a hint of what’s to come."
Billed as the game where Wheel of Fortune meets 24, MOMENTUM is a high speed wordplay game where four contestants scramble words against the clock to bank money for prizes.
The longer it takes them to scramble the words and the more clues they get, the less they can win. When a contestant has enough money in the bank they may choose to TAKE or LEAVE a prize in order to stay ahead of their competitors and save themselves from elimination at the end of each round (as the lowest scoring contestant).
However, the twist is that prior to playing, each player chooses the five prizes available to them, which means each prize is something the player really wants! Because of this twist, contestants can play for anything from a Mac Pro Suite to their sister’s house! To make the choices even more nerve-wracking, the entire game is played against an imposing 60 minute clock relentlessly counting down, even during the commercial breaks.
(BMcC)