Red Arrow International has sold the hit format “Married at First Sight” to MediaWorks New Zealand.
The new local version will be produced by MediaWorks and air on MediaWorks’ channel Three between October and December 2017.
Red Arrow International has also licensed to MediaWorks all English-language tape versions of “Married at First Sight”, including the US, Australia and the UK.
The deal was completed by Red Arrow International’s VP Sales for Asia Pacific, Jamie I.
Henrik Pabst, Managing Director of Red Arrow International, said: “It is great news that New Zealand is finally getting its own local version of ‘Married at First Sight’ after falling in love with the Australian show. The format continues to perform in an extraordinary way around the world, including in the US, UK, Germany and Denmark, with multiple recommissions and new territories going on air throughout 2017.”
Andrew Szusterman, MediaWorks Chief Content Officer, said: “We pride ourselves in bringing the best locally produced content to New Zealanders. ‘Married at First Sight’ is the show that has been on everyone’s lips for 2017 and we are really excited to be producing New Zealand’s first series of this hit show.”
MediaWorks viewers have already been enjoying the latest season of the Australian version of the show, which has been Three’s highest rated international programme of 2017 – reaching a total audience of over one million people in the key 25-54 demographic. By the end of its season, it is expected to hit one million ThreeNow streams.
The fourth season of “Married at First Sight” Australia on Nine Network has been the biggest to date, featuring 10 couples over 29 episodes and airing nightly across 9 weeks; ratings have included a staggering 71% boost for audiences aged 16-39 (compared to the same period in 2016) and the show has been recommissioned for a fifth season. In the US, the fifth season of the show started on Thursday 20 April on A&E’s Lifetime; and the original Danish production recently wrapped its fourth season with impressive ratings.