1. META-VOICE
It’s the news of the week: the worldwide known talent show TheVoice will enter the metaverse, thanks to a partnership between ITV Studios and Virtual Brand Group (VBG), a specialized company that already cooperates with video-games giants like Roblox.
The details are not yet revealed. According to an official note, “fans from across the world will get the opportunity to engage with the show - anytime, anywhere - in an environment built for them and be part of their own musical journey in ways never dreamed of before”.
Basically, the “Meta-Voice” experience will be structured in 3 assets:
Building virtual experiences and social games, including events where fans and friends can enjoy contents, showcase skills and challenge each other.
Creating a web3 loyalty program that rewards viewership for the time across all their interactions (social media, watching the tv show, buying virtual or physical merchandise…).
Developing a new form of metaverse global competition that goes far beyond the real-life version.
Despite of the fact that Zuckerberg’s metaverse is not going well at all (in Horizon Worlds - Meta’s metaverse - there are 200,000 users a month -in constant decline- against a target of 500,000), the “general” metaverse, intended as a multifaceted, shared virtual space, is expanding more and more. In particular, in our field, the winning formula seems precisely this: a “traditional” show on a “traditional” Tv or streaming platform, “enriched” with extensions of the experience (merchandising, events, social games, interaction with other users…) on metaverse.
2. MOROCCO’S STARS
Last October 25th Starlight, a new talent show produced by Paris-based We Make, premiered successfully (39% of share) on the Morocco channel 2M.
The peculiarity of this format is that every performance of the participants (amateur or semi-professional) starts in the dark, so they cannot be seen. If during a performance a jury member is impressed by them, they can press a buzzer that activates a projector in the studio, revealing the contestant bit by bit: their silhouette, their hands… When the singers receives at least four lights from the jury, their face is shown and they must try to keep shining throughout the next stages of the competition in order to reach the semi-final and the final.
A “classic” talent show with an interesting visual element.
3. FINDING LOVE THANKS TO KIDS
In the great format binge of the just finished MipCom, there are some shows who deserve a bit more of attention. One of them is The Mini Matchmakers, presented by David Ciaramella during the Frapa Summit and quoted by Alexandra Heidrich in the last Friday’s Espresso.
The concept is extremely simple. A panel of five 9 year olds (the mini matchmakers) interview singletons to find their perfect match. The power is completely in their hands to select two dates to accompany the singletons on a real world date; they also decide for the couples where to go and what they have to do, with some hilarious results. Finally, the singletons reveal which date they preferred and take the chosen partner on a final dinner date. Will the Mini Matchmakers' pairing be successful?
A simple, fun show with an intriguing twist that adds an additional narrative level to the “classical” datings. The format is produced by Afro-Mic Production, distributed by The Story Lab and will be on air on BBC Northern Ireland and IPlayer UK for October 2022.
And finally, for those interested, I suggest a free newsletter that shares ratings and intelligence on the top TV series on air in Korea: https://www.breakthroughnowmedia.com/subscribenow
So glad to see the We Make format for Morocco. Thanks for the share Axel!