The deal, which allows for the format to be produced for three years from 2020, covers CME channels BTV (Bulgaria), Pro TV (Romania) and Markiza (Slovakia). “The Farm” is already well-established in the schedules for these broadcasters, with Markiza alone having produced the show for 10 seasons. Typically, the broadcasters strip the series annually in either 60’ or 90’ primetime episodes, every day for around three months, complete with companion highlights and talk shows.
“The Farm” is one of the world’s most successful and enduring reality formats, with versions in more than 50 territories, many running for between 10 and 15 years. The show throws a group of men and women together on a farm in a bid to discover the simple life. They have to survive without any luxuries – including running water, electricity or mobile phones - and learn to live off the land. Each week they compete in a series of challenges and every week someone is evicted, until one person is left standing and declared the winner - Farmer of the Year. Originally created by Strix, the format touches on our rural history and focuses on human relationships to deliver a very real type of reality show. It has proved itself highly addictive, entertaining audiences across the globe since its launch in Scandinavia in 2001.
“The Farm continues to be the number one reality show for a number of our broadcasters in Europe, so we were keen to extend our relationship with DRG and grow the programme brand still further in these territories,” commented Tubi Neustad, Content Production Director at CME.
“Nearly 20 year on, The Farm still resonates with broadcasters and viewers around the world and we are thrilled that its flexible and effective format has worked so well for CME, both on-screen in terms of ratings and off-air, with the publicity and social media engagement that it always generates. We are delighted to extend this significant and far-reaching deal for a further three years and look forward to continuing our successful partnership with the team at CME,” said Adam Barth, DRG’s Commercial Director.