Mebala Press

View Original

LOCAL TV FORMAT THE COOLEST OG's GOES INTERNATIONAL

SOUTH AFRICAN PRODUCTION HOUSE, REBELINTOWN, SIGNS CUTTING EDGE DEAL WITH INTERNATIONAL POWERHOUSE BANIJAY


Banijay, the world’s largest independent home to the best creative talent and IP, today announces it has acquired the exclusive format rights to an original new factual entertainment series from South African production company Rebelintown.

Created by African entertainment visionary Jimmy Muteba, Still Got It! sees older people aged 60- 80 competing in a series of fun and unexpected challenges with the help of the Gen Z crowd, to see which of them has Still Got It!. From modelling, songwriting, dancing, gaming, cooking, art and adventure sports, the vibrant older people are put to the test by their younger counterparts. A cash prize is up for grabs by the person who impresses a panel of influential young judges.

Locally titled The Coolest OGs, the series made its worldwide debut in June last year on free-to-air channel SABC 2 and was licensed to SVOD platform Showmax in September 2021.

Rebelintown retains the rights to distribute the format in Africa, working in partnership with Banijay on a non-exclusive basis in North Africa, and with Banijay exclusively responsible for deals across the rest of the world.

“There is a growing movement which sees African creativity having its moment in the spotlight. This format cuts across generations and with its universal nature, Still Got It! holds great potential to be adapted across the globe. Banijay is a company that has long inspired me creatively with local versions of big, noisy formats such as MasterChef, Survivor and Big Brother so popular here in South Africa, and we are incredibly pleased to be heading to the world stage and joining their premium quality slate”stated Jimmy Muteba, CEO of Rebelintown.

Carlotta Rossi Spencer, Head of Format Acquisitions at Banijay says: “With a burgeoning creative industry in South Africa, it’s an exciting time to bring Rebelintown’s Still Got It! to the international market. Here at Banijay, we are constantly looking for new innovative partners, and fresh creative IP, and we see great potential in this positive, intergenerational show. We are impressed with the unscripted content created by the team at Rebelintown and look forward to bringing an original show from South Africa to the international market.”

Other credits for Rebelintown include TRACE Music Star, the world’s first music talent search competition where the public could enter simply by recording their song on a phone call. The show was licensed to TRACE, and rolled out across fourteen African countries, over three seasons, and also sold to France. High-profile judges included Wyclef Jean, Akon, Keri Hilson and Dawala.

Still Got It! will join Banijay’s catalogue of over 4000 formats, beside flagship brands Survivor, Hunted, MasterChef, LEGO Masters and Big Brother, as well as the company’s portfolio of fresh new IP Starstruck, Limitless Win, The Courtship and more.