CJ E&M's Broadcast Format of <Grandpas Over Flowers> Reaches Italy and Turkey

On the 23rd, CJ E&M (CEO Kim Sung-soo) announced that the tvN’s broadcast format for reality show <Grandpas Over Flowers> was sold to Italy and Turkey. 

First, the Italian version ‘Meglio Tardi che Mai (Before It is Too Late)’ started its broadcast on the night of the 22nd on Rai2, the largest national broadcaster in the country. The number of viewers of the first episode, which portrayed the trip to Japan of four elderly celebrities including actors, a singer and a tennis player, recorded 1.63 million drawing a lot of attention. Local media including 'La Stampa,' one of Europe's three major dailies, said, "The Korean broadcast format, which is also popular in the United States, has finally come to Italy," adding, "It is original."

Unlike other countries, the cast of the Turkish version entitled ünya Güzellerim (My Beautiful World), scheduled to air this summer, is all female. Influential figures such as Turkey's first transgender and national singer, a pop star of the 1980’s, and a Miss Turkey turned terrestrial main anchor were cast, with the general public showing an excitement. The reality show is scheduled to air on the weekend prime time (between 8 and 11 PM) on Show TV, a prominent terrestrial broadcaster.

A CJ E&M official said, “We are expanding the influence of Korean content by exporting the broadcast format we applied to <Grandpas Over Flowers> and <I Can See Your Voice> to various overseas markets,” stressing, “Going forward, we will strengthen our own production capabilities that viewers around the world can relate to.” 

Meanwhile, an analysis report on the ‘Survey on the Broadcast Format Import and Export Status’ published by the Korea Creative Content Agency, said, “Korea’s overseas market has expanded to the UK, France, Turkey, the Netherlands, and the United States since 2014, which is mostly attributable to the efforts of CJ E&M.”