EXCLUSIVE: A Europe-wide search for the next K-pop stars has begun.
Monaco and Finland-based film and TV production company Pig & Horse Productions is working up Europe’s K-Pop Odyssey, which is billed as a “social-to-screen” talent format.
Beatrice Rossmanith, who is an agent for the Korean Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), and her consultancy Mothership is attached to lead the digital and sales strategy for the format, with realuty competition producer Anssi Rimpelä’s UpToLevel Media also attached.
The format is designed to begin on social media and then transition to TV screens. It will begin with a European social media talent, who invites Gen Zs and young adult K-pop fans to take part in a talent competition. Pig & Horse will measure audience reach and engagement throughout the process to assess who makes it to the next stage, where audiences are properly introduced to the competitors. Selected talent will then travel to Korea to train at a professional K-pop academy before a live performance competition takes place at the culmination of the series.
Pig & Horse, which Kozma launched earlier this year out of Finland and Monaco, will track real-time feedback and engagement, which it claims will allow for flexible and scalable production. Sponsorship packages and brand partnerships can also be meshed into the format, says the company, adding it is “currently in talks with select music labels to collaborate with on Europe’s K-Pop Odyssey.“
Kozma, the Finnish actress and producer, said: “Europe’s K-Pop Odyssey is a celebration of this genre, designed as a social-first format that blends real-time fan engagement with the global energy of K-pop. With this social-to-big-screen approach, we are launching a platform for influencers and brands to engage authentically with audiences. Equipped with Beatrice’s expertise and insight of the digital distribution market, our ambition is to grow a franchise that that bridges cultures, builds communities and partnerships, and celebrates talent.”
Mothership’s Rossmanith has worked with the likes of AwesomenessTV, Red Bull Media House and Magnify Media on projects in the factual, entertainment and branded format spaces, while UpToLevel’s Rimpelä is known for producing and directing major talent search formats in the Nordics such as Popstars, Idols, Got Talent and The X Factor. On launch back in June, Pig & Horse had noted it was working with former Fremantle Finland Head of Development Rimpelä on several projects.
The post ‘Europe’s K-Pop Odyssey’ Talent Series Set At Pig & Horse Productions, UpToLevel Media & Mothership appeared first on Deadline.
