My 5000 Friends spreads across Europe and beyond
Eccho Rights continues its success with entertainment formats as the distributor announces three new deals on reality show My 5000 Friends. The show premiered in Belgium on 27 January and is heading to screens in Finland and Russia.
On top of this Zig Zag Productions is currently in negotiations with a US broadcaster on the format following a successful Realscreen Summit where nine broadcasters were vying for the show.
Danny Fenton, CEO at Zig Zag, is enthusiastic about the format "There is an appetite in America for the next social media based entertainment format after Catfish and My 5000 Friends is that. It speaks to our times in a fun, entertaining and informative way."
Sputnik Media, who won last year's TV Lab in the Netherlands with a local version of the show, have produced a version for OP12, the youth channel of Belgium's public broadcaster VRT. While Five Quarters will take the show forward in Finland and UTV have taken an option for Russia.
Kris Gaens from Sputnik comments on the deal, "After winning TV Lab in The Netherlands, we are proud to bring My 5000 Friends to Belgium. The show succeeds in bringing TV and social media together, questioning our digital behaviour in a unique way. Are digital friendships the same as 'real' friendships? Should we reveal so much about ourselves online? In a highly entertaining show our host Thomas Smith explores his social media life."
Nicola Söderlund, managing partner at Eccho Rights, says about the sales "My 5000 friends is gaining popularity as our obsession with social media continues. The show takes a critical look at our online relationships and questions what friendship really is in an online world. A great show that provokes an audience reaction."
The show originally comes from Veranda Films in Sweden where it aired on SVT. In Hungary AGB productions made a local version for Viasat.
5000 is the maximum number of friends you can have on Facebook. Kjell - a radio host from Sweden – had 5000 friends, but he still felt lonely. So he set out to meet as many of his friends as possible in one month. He did just about anything to meet his digital friends - from impromptu birthday parties to staging mass events. Challenging our views on contemporary social relationships.
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