CEETV and NATPE are proud to announce the three finalists for the second edition of format pitching event PITCH & PLAY LIVE which looks for the best new format in the CEE region.

The three finalists were selected among 11 formats from 7 countries following the vote of a selection committee which included Samantha Ferguson, Format Sales Executive at Banijay Rights; Jonathan Tuovinen, Head of International for Rabbit Films; Elwin de Groot, Senior Creative Director in Armoza Formats’ Development Department; Georgi R. Chakarov, CEO at CEETV, TVBIZZ Group and Dann Novak, Programming Producer, NATPE.

Each format was evaluated based on three criteria: originality (how original is the idea for the format), universality (does the format idea show flexibility for changes and development) and internationality (does the format have the potential to be sold internationally). The selection committee members reviewed each of the 11 selected formats and voted in all three criteria with scores from 1 to 5. The final ranking was determined from the accumulated sum of all scores of the five selection committee members.

And so, the three finalists are: Start Up Slovenia (POP TV, Slovenia) – a format looking for the best new locally developed product by young entrepreneurs; SuperYou! (NTV, Russia) – a show looking for the most talented little singers without parents; and The Land is Singing (STV1, Nunez NFE, Slovakia) – a talent format looking for folklore talents.

The 3 finalist formats will be presented live by their creators in Budapest during the PITCH & PLAY LIVE session on Wednesday, June 21. The jury, consisting of Levina Negi, VP, Global Acquisitions & Development, FremantleMedia; Peter Kolosi, Deputy CEO, Director of Programming, RTL Hungary and Bence Trunkó, Chief Creative Officer, Paprika Latino Studios, will review the top 3 finalists and vote for one winner of the competition that will be announced in front of the NATPE Budapest attendees.

Here is the full ranking following the vote of the selection committee:

Start Up Slovenia – 57 points
SuperYou! – 53 points
The Land is Singing – 52 points
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Psychics vs Detectives – 51 points
Secret for a Million – 45 points
The Dowry Call – 43 points
Dirty Dancing – 42 points
Love Survivors – 41 points
The Big Rock Break – 41 points
Everybody Dance! – 41 points
Summer Flirt – 34 points