John de Mol's Talpa has sold its successful music entertainment show Dream Duets to Lithuanian public broadcaster Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT). The show - in which the impossible is made possible - captured a big audience in the Netherlands scoring impressive numbers on SBS6. With a 19,9% average market share in the key demo (25-59) it doubled the time slot average. Eight 90-minute episodes will be produced by Talpa Entertainment Productions in cooperation with Talpa's partner in the region, ELITAZ Group. The release date on LRT is Saturday the 3rd of September 2022.
The Lithuanian commission comes hot on the heels of the recent Telia acquisition of another Talpa format with ELITAZ Group: the adventure game show Hunting Season. "We are thrilled to be the first in the world to produce Dream Duets outside of the Netherlands and more than happy that LRT has chosen this unique format for their new season as primetime shiny floor entertainment. Our team is working hard to ensure the success of this format and help it travel across all Baltic states" says Gediminas Jaunius, Chief Producer of the creative house ELITAZ.
About Dream Duets
In each episode, six famous singers are welcomed to the studio by a famous hosting duo. They all got the unique opportunity to sing and record a video duet with a singer with whom they would normally never be able to perform. Because that singer is no longer with us, or because that singer is too big a star and therefore inaccessible. Each singer chooses a well-known song from a big artist. Not just any song, but a song that has a special meaning to them. From a first dance wedding song to a song that reminds them of a special moment or of a loved one: anything is possible. In the weeks leading up to the show, each artist worked separately on the recording of their dream duet. Thanks to the latest state-of-the-art techniques, they'll play a lead role in a video clip of the original song. Before watching the video clip, we get to watch the making-off of the clip. The singers performed in front of a green screen, so they have no clue of the end result yet. This is a surprise that will be
Watching the video clips together and sharing their stories, is bound to make for some emotional moments.
Dream Duets is a Talpa Concepts format, produced by Talpa Entertainment Productions and distributed by Talpa Distribution.
About Talpa
After the sale of Talpa Media to ITV and the subsequent earn-out period, John de Mol set up a new company in 2020 consisting of Talpa Entertainment Productions, Talpa Concepts and Talpa Distribution as the new home for his creative development, production and international exploitation of his content. In combination with Talpa Network - his separate Dutch cross media company consisting of amongst others free-to-air broadcast channels - this is a perfect way to build and accelerate new brands to the market, creating a unique position in The Netherlands. John De Mol, former founder of Endemic and Talpa Media, is known for creating global block busters like Big Brother and The Voice His last company Talpa Media, founded in 2009, was sold to ITV in 2015. ITV renamed Talpa Media to ITV Studios
About ELITAZ
ELITAZ Creative House has been the market leader in events and television production for more than 17 years. The prominent team of professionals, led by Executive Producer Gediminas Jaunius, specializes in producing TV shows, unique formats and international TV projects.
The Company's creative design has helped ELITAZ become well known and appreciated in the market for high-quality TV content. ELITAZ's most significant works include international TV formats, such as The Voice of Lithuania, which has been produced in Lithuania for ten years, along with all its spin-offs, Dance Revolution, which the ELITAZ team was the first to produce in Europe, and many other international TV formats such as, I Can See Your Voice as well as National technology awards 'Tech Top' which is produced in Lithuania for eight years.
About LRT
The Lithuanian public broadcaster, Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT), is the media group that is owned by the public. As a taxpayer-funded institution, LRT's fundamental mission is to serve the public interest and the public's right to trustworthy and objective information.
Lithuanian Radio and Television dates back to 1926 when the first radio station started regular broadcasting from the then temporary capital of Lithuania, Kaunas. The television service has been broadcasting since 1957. Radio and television services are now operated from LRT's headquarters in Vilnius.
