THE "NEW KING OF ALL MEDIA" IS...

In other news: a German quiz and a Spanish satirical TV show

THE NEW KING OF ALL MEDIA

Google-owned video platform YouTube is worth between $475 billion and $550 billion, according to a report from equity research publisher MoffettNathanson, which predicts that the platform's revenues will surpass those of Disney for the first time. In February this year, YouTube's US streaming viewership reached an all-time high of 11.6% (up from 11.1% in December 2024), widening the gap with second-placed Netflix, which has 8.2% of views (up from 8.1% in December 2024).

But YouTube's importance is not just in terms of revenue and views. In fact, it is increasingly being used as a ‘pool of new formats’ from which paid streaming services and, increasingly, traditional TV channels are ‘fishing’ for their new programmes.

The latest example is the dating series Pop the Balloon Or Find Love, which was launched on influencer Arlette Amuli's YouTube channel at the end of 2023 and which Netflix has adapted, premiering on 10 April, under the title Pop the Balloon LIVE, produced by Sony Pictures Television's Sharp Entertainment (the format's co-creators, Arlette Amuli and Boila Matundu, also serve as executive producers).

Pop the Balloon LIVE follows the same concept as the original series. A group of single men or women are gathered in a room and all are given balloons. A single man or woman is then presented to them and questioned by the host, with the group instructed to pop their balloons if they're not interested, and leave them intact if they're open to dating the person.

The live Netflix version of the show will be hosted by actress and presenter Yvonne Orji (Max's My Mom, Your Dad, HBO's Insecure), who will be standing in for original host Amuli. The series will also feature appearances from reality TV celebrities including Johnny Bananas (The Challenge), Chase DeMoor (Too Hot To Handle), Farrah Abraham (Teen Mom) and Zaina Sesay (The Ultimatum).

The increasingly central role of YouTube in today's media landscape is such that analyst Michael Nathanson, co-author of the report quoted at the beginning, has called it the "new king of all media" (and yes, that's the answer).

THE PERFECT ROW (is after the Millionaire)

On Monday 28th April, the new quiz show Die Perfekte Reihe - Das Bilder-Quiz (The Perfect Row - The Picture Quiz) will premiere on RTL German, produced by BBC Studios Germany (which will distribute the show internationally under the title Get in Line) and hosted by Daniel Hartwich (who also presented the Korean competition show I Can See Your Voice, always on RTL).

The concept is simple and somewhat familiar: in each episode, contestants have to put a series of pictures, text or symbols in the right order. If you get stuck, there are two jokers to help you out: the Team Joker, where a buddy helps you solve the puzzle, and the Gap Filler, which provides a solution grid to help you find the right answer. Find the perfect sequence twelve times and you could win up to €200,000.

Perhaps most interesting of all is the time slot. Die Perfekte Reihe will kick off at 9.15pm, directly after Wer wird Millionär? (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?) which will be shortened for the occasion to give the new quiz a boost. In the following two weeks - on 5 and 12 May - Hartwich's show will be shown in double length on Mondays at 8.15pm. Will it be enough to make this new game work?

IMPERFECT FUTURE FOR FORMATS

Futuro Imperfecto ('Imperfect Future') is the new weekly comedy programme that will soon premiere in prime time on La 1 and RTVE Play, produced by RTVE in collaboration with El Terrat (The Mediapro Studio).

With a fresh and irreverent approach, the 60-minute programme will be a reflection of reality, where humour and criticism go hand in hand. Each week, comedian Andreu Buenafuente (who is also the founder of the audiovisual production company El Terrat) will give a monologue in which he will share his personal and humorous view of the world in the last few days.

After his monologue, there will be performances by other comedian friends, sketches by some of the most popular actors and actresses on the national scene, conversations with guests of all kinds and live musical performances. ‘No one understands this world, but we'll have to try. We'll have to laugh about it and highlight the good,’ says Andreu Buenafuente.

The programme will be recorded in a theatre in Terrassa ( a city in central-eastern Catalonia and the province of Barcelona), with a live audience of 700 people.

The official release defines the programme as a 'format', but this kind of show, by its very nature tied to the talent involved, the kind of humour that is typical of a single nation, and the fact that (as the press release points out) much of it is the result of improvisation, is never a format in the strictest sense and therefore almost never sells abroad. At home, however, if you find the right formula, it often works very well, which is why almost every country has its own show that combines current affairs and satire.

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NEWS IN A NUTSHELL

• French commercial broadcaster TF1 has commissioned Sea Battle, a new primetime game show based on a classic ship-sinking strategy game. Created by Moe Bennani, co-founder of French format company Dreamspark, the show for the French broadcaster will bring naval combat to a major studio. It will co-produce the show with the Satisfaction Group.

• The German free-to-air television channel Sat.1 has secured the rights to the quiz show The Connection. The show is already in its fourth season in the Netherlands and iw has been adapted for Spanish public broadcaster La1 under the title La Conexión.

• First international sale of Dutch musical entertainment show 3 Minutes of Fame to TV Globo in Brazil. The Talpa Studios format will enrich TV Globo's Sunday programming as part of the popular show Domingão com Huck, where it will premiere in April 2025.

• The new talent show Song vs. Dance, which premiered on TV Asahi's Channel 5 on Friday 28 March 2025, a co-production between TV Asahi and Smart Dog Media, achieved an excellent rating of 3.5% and a share of 15.9%, resulting first in key demos and the second most watched show in this prime time slot. Over 136 million social media engagements.

• After a five-year hiatus, Deal or No Deal is making its return to screens in Mexico and the U.S. Hispanic market. Produced by EndemolShine Boomdog, the game show is set to air on TelevisaUnivision’s Las Estrellas in Mexico and UniMás for U.S. Hispanic audiences.

• The second season of Los Vecinos de la Casa de al Lado (The Neighbours Next Door) starts on 31st March on the Spanish platform Mitele PLUS.

• Discovery Channel is teaming up with Red Bull for a new competition series, Red Bull Soapbox Race, which premieres on the U.S. cable network on April 29.