October Premieres of International Formats on Ukrainian TV

This October several local adaptations of international formats have been launched on Ukrainian broadcasters’ air. Here is our short review.

TV channel 1+1 has launched a docuseries Klinika on October 19 – the Ukrainian version of the Belgian format De Kliniek (The Clinic), the rights to which were acquired from the Swedish distributor Eccho Rights.

“Klinika is a reconstruction of unusual medical cases. This is the most interesting thing in the format. It is very important to to diagnose rare diseases correctly and on time. There were great medical consultants working in our team who helped us to adapt the format scripts to the reality of our health care. It appeared to be even more interesting than the original version. Of course, the viewers will be excited", – says Alena Eremeeva, Creative Producer of 1+1 Production.

"The project was of very high quality. In my opinion, this is one of those formats on the market, which is worth investing. All cases are based on true stories and address the real diagnoses. Thus, the project has practical significance and educational function. For now the drama shows the average performances. However, as my experience says, such projects’ share usually enhances from the third or fourth episode. It is worth noting that Klinika is of large interest among urban population, while traditional daytime programmes are watched mostly in towns with less than 50 thousand people", – says Andrey Koval, Programming Director of 1+1.

It is also worth noting that just a week after Ukrainian launch the format De Kliniek premiered on the Spanish channel La 1.

Also on Monday, October 19, Inter TV channel successfully launched 12-episode TV series Women in Love, the adaptation of the BBC Worldwide drama Mistresses, produced by Ukrainan-Russian prodco Star Media. The plot is based on dramatic love stories of four best friends.

The performances proved that Women in Love do hit the Ukrainian viewer’s tastes, the share of some Women in Love episodes reached 25% (18+ audience in cities with populations over 50 thousand people).

On October 16 on ICTV channel’s air started What’s on Telly – adaptation of UK based all3media International hit Gogglebox. The rights to create the Ukrainian version of the show, which has already conquered the half of the world (UK, USA, Israel, Sweden, Serbia, Finland, Serbia, Australia, Belgium, Poland, Norway, Germany, Turkey and many other countries), were bought back in the 2013, but it appeared on the Ukrainian screen only this autumn.

"Gogglebox is unique format in its nature and form. It's very simple – real people are watching TV and reacting to what they saw. It is clear that it’s literally impossible to remake it, adding or removing something, and thus to create a new product. Gogglebox gained great success in all territories and it is becoming a super hit gradually in Ukraine as well. The viewer does not immediately get used to such a fair manner. But love to the show characters increases from episode to episode, so eventually it will be really difficult to compete with Ukrainian Gogglebox in prime time. We expect that What’s on Telly will gain its zealous fans in Ukraine", – comments Anastasia Steinhaus, Producer of ICTV TV channel.

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