WARNER BROS. INTL’ ACQUIRES NIPPON TV’S “MUTE IT!”

Nippon TV and Warner Bros International Television Production announced a multi-territory deal for the award-winning format "Mute it!.” The announcement was made by Mikiko Nishiyama, Managing Director of International Business Development for Nippon TV. “'Mute it!' is a modern and updated crazy-Japanese-gameshow type of format that has huge success each time it airs on our Nippon TV network,” Nishiyama said. “We are very honored they found this format to be attractive and have no doubt their versions, starting with the Dutch version, will be smash hits, especially for viewers looking for fun and feel-good shows.”

WBITVP has acquired the exclusive rights to produce local versions in all of the territories where it has a production company, including the UK, Australia & New Zealand, France, Germany, and the Nordics. The rest of world sales, including Asia and LatAm will continue to be handled by Nippon TV. The company is set to produce and develop the format across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.  Production is well underway on a local adaptation for SBS6 Netherlands, entitled ‘Stilte AUB!’ (translation: Silence Please!). The 6-episode series launches prime-time on Friday 12th March. 

Due to its popularity and demand in Japan, Nippon TV greenlit and produced a two-hour prime-time special new episode of Mute it! which aired on Wednesday, 10th February on Nippon TV’s network. “For a show that’s all about keeping quiet, Mute it! is a great, fun format that has already created a lot of noise in the international marketplace,” Andrew Zein, SVP Creative Format Development and Sales at WBITVP, said. “We are thrilled to now add to that and shout about our new acquisition. Mute it! is perfect escapism for audiences right now and we look forward to our colleagues at BlazHoffski and SBS launching their fantastic version.”

“Mute It!” was initially presented by Nippon TV at MIPTV 2020 Online and soon garnered widespread international interest. The popular game show has won the award for Best TV Format Adaptation (Non-scripted) at the first ContentAsia Awards held in August 2020 in Singapore, as well as the Outstanding Performance Award for Variety Shows at the annual ATP (Association of All Japan TV Program Production Companies) Awards held in October 2020 in Tokyo, among others.