Twist & Shout Spins Into France, Romania And Germany

Zodiak Entertainment Distribution has announced new in-roads for its "off-the-wall" singing talent show Twist & Shout into France, Germany and Romania.
During MIPCOM 2009, the entertainment format was licensed to broadcasters in France and Romania and optioned by a German production company.
Virgin 17 in France is to air six primetime episodes of the show (Chante Si Tu Peux) which will be produced locally by Adventure Line Productions, a Zodiak Entertainment company.
Antena 1 will bring Twist & Shout to viewers in Romania. Studio Hamburg will produce the format for Germany where it is in negotiations with several local broadcasters.
Launched at MIPCOM 2008, Twist & Shout has been a rising star in the Zodiak Entertainment portfolio, garnering licences in Indonesia, Middle East, Turkey and the Philippines and has been optioned in 12 territories including Channel 9 in Australia.
Matthieu Porte, Head of Format Sales at Zodiak Entertainment, explained: "Twist & Shout has been popular in Asia from its launch and now its appeal is spreading steadily into Europe. The show is fun and outrageous and each broadcaster is pushing its boundaries a little further. In addition to these licences, we have strong interest in Southern Europe and expect to close further deals very soon."
Twist & Shout is the one-hour musical talent-show with a difference - in each show, eight acts go head-to-head in four musical duets. While they do their best to perform some of the world's greatest hits, everything is done to put them off. From an ice water plunge to singing with animals or even upside down.
Each contestant tries to sing or play their best for two minutes without stopping - whatever happens.
A regular jury decides the winner of each duel, but it is the studio audience who vote at the end to decide who will become this week's Twist & Shout champions.
(KMcA/BMcC)