Aiming for New Heights in NHK Formats – NEP broadens distribution alliance, deepening partnership with Lineup Industries and on-boarding Empire of Arkadia for unscripted sales in Asia and scripted sales globally.

NHK Enterprises Inc. (NEP), NHK’s international business arm, will expand its distribution partnership with Netherlands based Lineup Industries B.V. (Lineup) for US, Europe, Australia & New Zealand with Singapore-based Empire of Arkadia (EOA) to manage distribution for format sales across Asia.

NEP has been actively involved in managing sales of NHK format for over ten years now, including deals such as “The New Anatomy Show” to MCOT PLC in Thailand, “72 Hours” to China’s Shenzen Tencent Computer Systems Ltd, “Cinderella Network” to MNTV in Myanmar and with Lineup’s support, “Chiko’s Challenge” to RTVE in Spain.

Lineup and EOA have extensive format sales experience in their respective markets and their cooperation will enable NEP to further reach buyers globally. Lineup will be responsible for unscripted sales of NHK’s formats in the U.S, European markets, Australia and New Zealand. EOA will be handling unscripted sales of NHK’s formats in the Asian market. EOA will also handle worldwide sales of the NHK’s scripted formats.

As one of the leading broadcasters in Japan, NHK produces a large number of programs every year. In starting the new partnership, leveraging on the combined expertise of Lineup Industries and EOA, the three parties have chosen, from the vast array of programs, the following two new gameshow formats with international potential to be released at MIPCOM 2024.

“Quiz 100”

A unique and fun quiz show taking the classic trivia format approach—and cranking it up by 100 levels! In this unusual Q&A series, experts known as “Superhumans,” go head-to-head against a massive group of 100 people(!) all who sharing a vast love for specialist knowledge on bizarre hobbies and interests. With a different interest set for each episode, two Superhumans—true experts in their field are challenged to answer trivia questions related to that theme. Their mission? To prove they’re the BEST by outsmarting the 100+ crowd, who also happen to know just as much on the subject, if not more! It’s a battle of brains v brains as the experts must prove their edge over a whole bunch of people who think they know just as much.

“Unknown Championship”

A highly entertaining competition game show format that focuses on highlighting and showcasing unusual skills in everyday jobs. Each episode delves into the world of rare and unconventional professions, as well as unique talents that are unknown or generally misunderstood by the general public. Highlighting these fascinating and often overlooked aspects of any local workforce, participants – ranging from celebrities, experts and the general public – engage in a series of competitive rounds in the battle of the ultimate craftsmanship to win.

NHK Enterprises, Deputy Head of Content Sales Junko Ogawa comments: “We are happy to be able to partner with such strong industry experts. With the expertise of Lineup and EOA, we hope to further expand the success of NHK formats globally.”

The partnership will become effective in October 2024.