Shadow
02-11-2011, 00:45
Arabic language versions of familiar US formats Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! are to be produced by Sony Pictures Television (SPT) for regional broadcast later this year on MBC and Egypt's Al Hayat TV. Ziad Kebbi, president of UAE-based SPT Arabia, said the company would provide 240 episodes of 30 minute duration of Wheel of Fortune, ready for broadcast later this month. The new quiz show is being shot for Al Hayat in Cairo. Meanwhile, MBC1 will receive 20 one hour episodes of Jeopardy!, currently being produced by SPT Arabia in Lebanon, said Kebbi during Informa's Digital TV Middle East conference in Dubai on 1 November. A second series of the 'Arabized' version of Everybody Loves Raymond is also on the cards, said Kebbi, who also alluded to the introduction of a "very big talent show" and an English language reality show for TV audiences across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). As well as the above franchises, SPT also owns the rights to Who Wants to be a Millionaire, which was the first international format to be re-worked for an Arabic audience when broadcast by MBC to region-wide success. The pan-Arab free to air satellite broadcaster is now preparing for the premiere on MBC1 of the Arab Idol on 9 December, after acquiring the franchise rights from FremantleMedia Enterprises earlier this year.