Acunmedya’s CEO highlighted the continued success of the format, which recently premiered its tenth season in Mexico, and showcased the capabilities of its production hub in the Dominican Republic. The company is also looking to expand its European presence through Sport1 and develop new original formats for 2027.
*with reporting by Carolina Mussio and Ana Paula Carreira from Cannes, France.
Acunmedya arrived at Mipcom 2026 with Exatlon as the main highlight of its catalog and an international production offering supported by ACM Production Hub, its production complex in the Dominican Republic. Speaking with ttv, Ebru Atasav Tahrancı, CEO of the company, highlighted the format’s success, following the recent premiere of its tenth season in Mexico on Azteca Uno, and opportunities for expansion into new markets.
“For us, Exatlon is a reality show that has a lot of sports in it. And people never get tired of watching sports, just like football,” the executive explained. “The show turns ordinary people into heroes. Viewers feel they could be there too, that they could become one of those heroes. That connection with the contestants is what keeps them watching.”
The format also recently returned to Serbia, where its second season premiered in September on Informer TV, while Acunmedya continues producing local adaptations for different territories.
“A format is like a container, and every season you put different elements into it. It’s the contestants’ real stories that keep it fresh and create new situations for audiences,” Tahrancı said.
The company currently works with partners in 15 countries and also produces local adaptations of international formats such as Survivor, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and The Voice.
Much of this activity is centered around ACM Production Hub, a three-million-square-meter complex in the Dominican Republic, featuring facilities capable of hosting multiple simultaneous productions and providing comprehensive services for international broadcasters and production companies.
“We have one of the biggest open-air production hubs in the world. We don’t just produce our own formats. We also host productions for other companies, even when they’re not our formats or intended for our channels,” she highlighted.
According to Acunmedya, the complex employs more than 1,500 professionals and produces over 5,000 hours of primetime content annually.
Beyond its productions for TV Azteca in Mexico and Telemundo in the US Hispanic market, Tahrancı identified new opportunities for regional expansion.
“Exatlon has a huge following in Latin America. We’re already present in major markets such as Mexico and the US Hispanic market, but we’d also like to be on air in Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina. Hopefully, we’ll make that happen,” she said.
The executive also emphasized the importance of the company’s Dominican Republic infrastructure in meeting the needs of international partners, whether producing its own formats or providing production services for third-party franchises.
Sport1’s Strategy in Germany
Another key pillar of Acunmedya’s expansion is Germany, where the group acquired a 50% stake in Sport1 in 2024 as part of a strategic partnership to introduce entertainment content to the sports channel’s programming.
“We acquired Sport1 because we wanted to gain experience operating a channel in Europe, and Germany is one of the biggest markets. We’re not changing its sports DNA, but we’re gradually introducing entertainment to that audience,” Tahrancı explained.
The channel’s programming includes Acunmedya productions such as Exatlon, My Style Rocks and Darts Party, combining athletic competitions with other entertainment formats.
“If you ask me what our company’s DNA is, I’d say it’s sports and entertainment. That’s why having a sports channel fits perfectly with our strategy,” she added.
Looking ahead to 2027, Tahrancı said the company plans to strengthen the creative development of its catalog.
“It’s been a good year, with strong ratings across the territories where we produce and on our channels. Next year, we want to introduce new ideas and formats. We’ve developed a few this year, but we want to focus even more on the creative side, in addition to production,” she concluded.
