The eight finalists presented their projects live on Tuesday, April 21, during the event, in front of a jury comprised of executives from Talpa Studios, BBC Studios, TV4, Wogue Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
The first edition of the Content Europe Global Formats Pitch Competition, to be held this week in Lisbon in partnership with Talpa Studios, has one Spanish and one Portuguese format among its finalists.
These are Gimme the Beat!, from the Spanish label Beavers Studio, and Inside Joke, from the Portuguese production company Watermelon Productions.
Gimme the Beat!, which will be pitched by Ignacio Matas, is a talent show that searches for the next big music star, but with a twist: there is no music. The contestants must perform without a backing track, relying solely on their voice, personality, and stage presence to win over both the audience and the mentors.
Meanwhile, Inside Joke is a comedy format where a charismatic host guides a comedian in each episode to an unusual encounter, from fan conventions and specialized expos to quirky festivals and passionate subcultures. The challenge is simple, yet risky: understanding the audience well enough to make them laugh.
In this case, the pitch will be delivered by veteran producer Rick Fernandes, who has 15 Emmy nominations and three wins.
The other competitors in the pitch are the French reality show Fluent in 40 (Wonder Circuit Media), the Swiss reality shows Fortune$: The Secret Safes and Six Degrees of Connection (Occam Productions), the British game shows The Freeze (James Moore) and The Money Tree (Tom Day), and the American factual series The Get Together (Plooops).
The eight finalists will present their projects live during Content Europe on Tuesday, April 21, at 4:15 p.m., before a jury of executives from Talpa Studios, BBC Studios, TV4, Wogue Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
The winning project, a collaboration between C21Media and Talpa Studios, will receive a development agreement with the Dutch studio, with the goal of turning the idea into a fully developed format with international potential.
In addition, the winner will receive a marketing package valued at £20,000 across C21Media’s digital platforms, print media, and events to boost the project’s development and pre-sales promotion.
