TORONTO – CTV’s new music TV format The Launch is headed across the pond and beyond after Sony Pictures Television (SPT) acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the format.
Bell Media and Big Machine Label Group said Thursday that SPT’s production company, Electric Ray, is on board to produce the format in the U.K. The Canadian version of the show wrapped up this week, and its original songs have already surpassed 4 million streams worldwide, according to the news release.
Reinventing the music competition series genre, The Launch debuts a new and unique format, documenting an authentic, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to break a new artist and bring a song to life. In each stand-alone episode, unsigned emerging artists audition for the opportunity to learn, record and perform a new original song, mentored by a panel of internationally renowned music industry legends.
“As soon as we saw it we knew it was the music talent show we had been looking for”, said SPT’s creative director of global formats, Sarah Edwards, in the release. “It is a unique and authentic look into what it takes to be a successful performer and recording artist in today’s music business and we are confident that audiences around the world will embrace it.”
This marks the first time a Bell Media original TV format for CTV has been sold for international distribution, Bell said in the release. SPT will also distribute the Canadian version of the series for sale outside of Canada.
“With Sony now on board, this is another huge milestone to the already resounding success The Launch has received for its inaugural season,” added Bell Media president Randy Lennox. “This partnership reconfirms Bell Media’s commitment to producing high-calibre and innovative programming and a new TV format that we are sure will resonate with viewers around the world.”
