News

12 October 2009

ENDEMOL CLOSES LATAM DEAL FOR JERRY SEINFELD'S THE MARRIAGE REF

Endemol, a world leader in entertainment programming today announced it has secured a further deal for Jerry Seinfeld’s The Marriage Ref, having launched the show at this week’s Mipcom market in Cannes.

Leading Latin American broadcaster Telefe has commissioned a major prime time run of the show, which will be locally produced by Endemol Argentina and Telefe.

The deal follows the announcements that Endemol has sold both the format and the NBC version of the show to Abu Dhabi Media Company in the Middle East and Seven Network in Australia.

Martin Kweller Managing Director of Endemol Argentina and Creative Director for Latin America comments: "The launch of The Marriage Ref at Mipcom has generated real excitement in Latin America and we are very much looking forward to working with Telefe on what is set to be a great show. This is a format that will totally engage people whilst making them laugh out loud and we're delighted to be bringing it to audiences in Latin America."

Endemol is the exclusive distributor of The Marriage Ref format across all platforms outside of the USA and will produce local versions of the show around the world. Endemol's newly launched operation, Endemol Worldwide Distribution, is also globally distributing the NBC series, which is being Executive Produced by Jerry Seinfeld and the show's Co-Creator Ellen Rakieten. Rakieten's previous credits include twenty-three years with "The Oprah Winfrey Show".

Both Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen Rakieten were in Cannes last week to promote the show and further international deals for both the format and the NBC version are expected soon.

The Marriage Ref marks Jerry Seinfeld's first television series since "Seinfeld" ended its record-breaking nine year run in May 1998. Seinfeld will be behind the camera for the show, which has been commissioned for a prime time run of six hour-long episodes on NBC in March 2010.

The Marriage Ref will feature opinionated celebrities, comedians, sports personalities and international A-list stars who will candidly comment, judge and offer different strategies to real-life couples in the midst of a classic marital dispute. The show vows to look at relationships unlike anything you've ever seen on TV.