BBC One commissions brand new quiz show The Link

RNS Number : 6667B

STV Group PLC

06 March 2014

 



BBC ONE COMMISSIONS BRAND NEW QUIZ SHOW THE LINK

WARNER BROS INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION PRODUCTION TO DISTRIBUTE THE LINK GLOBALLY

6 March 2014

BBC One has commissioned 25 episodes of innovative new quiz show, The Link from STV Productions, in association with LTV, for a daytime slot. The brand new quiz show will be presented by actor Mark Williams (Father Brown, Blandings and the Harry Potter franchise).

STV Productions and LTV have also confirmed Warner Bros. International Television Production as their global distributor to bring the brand new format of The Link to the international market.

Over the course of 45 minutes, The Link sees three teams race against time to find the link between questions. It's a game that rewards daring, strategy and teamwork - make the connections, break the links, win money - it's simple. 

Gary Chippington is executive producer for STV Productions and Jo Street is executive producer for BBC.

STV developed the format with LTV, a partnership of Paul Johnson from Tuvalu Entertainment and former 'Ad Men' turned game developers, Tristan Hyatt-Williams, Ben Drummond and Dean Tempest - the team behind one of the UK's most innovative new board games, Linkee®.

Alan Clements, director of content for STV Production, said: "STV Productions has a proven track record in entertainment and we are excited to be partnering with LTV on The Link. It is both STV's and LTV's first opportunity to work with BBC Daytime in this genre. This exciting new format rewards strategy, teamwork and quick thinking, and will keep both contestants and viewers on the edge of their seats.

"We are also thrilled to be working with Warner Bros. International Television Production in a deal that brings a fantastic opportunity for The Link to reach new audiences worldwide."

Controller of BBC Daytime Damian Kavanagh, who commissioned the series, said:

"The Link appealed to us because of its innovative question style and challenging gameplay. Mark Williams will give the show a different flavour which we hope will delight the audience."

"We know that great game shows are back at the top of broadcasters' wish lists. The Link is that rare thing - an original new quiz show with a strong identity in terms of both its game play and visual elements, commissioned in a key market. Our excitement is shared by Mike Darnell and his team at the Warner Bros. Television Group, who will be bringing it to market in the U.S.," commented Andrew Zein, SVP, Creative, Format Development and Sales, Warner Bros. International Television Production.

The commission follows STV Productions' recent announcement of Let Me Entertain You, a brand new entertainment show commissioned by ITV. STV Productions also produces Catchphrase for ITV and Fake Reaction for ITV2.

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For further information, please contact the STV press office:

Eleanor Marshall

0141 300 3670 / 07803 970 143

[e-mail]

Anna Hendry

0141 300 3830 / 07921 494 654

[e-mail]

Notes to editors

STV Productions

STV Productions is one of the UK's leading content businesses, with ambitious plans for growth and expansion in the UK and overseas. The company has a record of success across a range of genres including drama, factual and entertainment, producing a wide range of programmes for a variety of networks, including Catchphrase and Fake Reaction for ITV and ITV2. Further commissions include ratings success Antiques Road Trip, including a celebrity version, for BBC One and Two and drama The Poison Tree for ITV1. In 2013, STV Productions was awarded Best Single Documentary by BAFTA Scotland for Fire in the Night, a feature documentary for BBC Scotland to mark the 25^th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster. Upcoming productions include new entertainment show Let me Entertain You for ITV and quiz show The Lie for STV and TV3.  STV Productions also works in partnership with US production company, Kinetic Content, licensing original formats in their respective companies and developing new formats, such as the Perez Hilton Super Fan entertainment series for ITV2. 

Linkee TV Limited

LTV is a Brighton based production company and is a joint venture between Tristan Hyatt-Williams, Ben Drummond and Dean Tempest, the former 'Ad Men' behind Linkee®, one of the UK's most innovative new board games, and Tuvalu Entertainment. It's a happy meeting of minds between TV and game specialists.

Tuvalu Entertainment Ltd.

Tuvalu Entertainment is a British production company based in Brighton.  Tuvalu Entertainment specializes in all forms of premium entertainment on all screens.  10% of the net profits of Tuvalu Entertainment go to a charitable trust that focuses on building a better life for the population of Tuvalu - the smallest country in the world and a proud member of the Royal Commonwealth - as well as combating the forces of Climate Change for the population on the South Pacific islands.

Warner Bros. International Television Production

Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP) aims to establish or acquire production companies in the major television territories around the world in order to become a leading producer of local scripted and non-scripted programming.

In those territories where WBITVP establishes a production base, it operates by developing and producing original programming and also producing local versions of formats owned and controlled by the group such as "The Bachelor", "The World's Strictest Parents" and "Who Do You Think You Are?"   Where WBITVP has no local production capability it licenses Warner Bros. formats to 3^rd parties.

WBITVP has taken significant steps by acquiring a majority stake in both UK production group Shed Media, one of the UK's largest and most successful independent production companies which operates both in the UK and the US, and in BlazHoffski Holding B.V., a leading independent television producer in The Netherlands and Belgium.

The Link

In round one of the quiz, the teams are faced with six pods, each containing cash of ranging values. The higher the value, the more links securing the cash pods. The teams must work out the connection between the answers to four questions - the quicker they make the connection, the more links they can remove from the pods. When all links have been broken, the value of the cash pod is released into the team's prize fund. The teams must be strategic, deciding between securing the smaller pods first or going straight for the big cash.

The two teams who bank most cash continue to round two, where two mega cash pods are secured by seven links. Each team's pod contains the amount they banked in round one. The first team to break all links go on to a nail biting finale, where they race against the clock to break a series of Super Links, hoping to walk away with the big cash prize.

 

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