ThisisBigBrother.com - UK TV Forums - ITV bets on Simon Cowell gameshow

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/c...025882.article

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Simon Cowell and ITV are creating an epic gameshow in which thousands of contestants compete to win a million pounds - on the spin of a roulette wheel.

Broadcast can reveal that the broadcaster is close to finalising a commission that will see Cowell’s television business Syco TV team up with ITV Studios to make Red And Black.
The two companies are investigating methods for how several thousand initial contestants are identified, which may include a competition element.
Those who are successful will be granted access to an arena where they will all get the opportunity to bet on a number of showpiece events, which will produce one of two different outcomes.
Details of the events remain sketchy, but it is known that over the course of a week the contestants will be whittled down to just one, who will place a bet on red or black to win £1m on the spin of a roulette wheel.
The show, likely to be hosted by Ant and Dec, has been earmarked to be stripped over a week in September. Sources familiar with the situation said Wembley Arena is being explored as a possible venue. “This will be big, noisy and expensive,” said one industry insider.
It is understood that Syco has wanted to make the format for some time and invited several indies to bid to become a production partner. ITV Studios won the pitch and, although the project is being closely guarded internally, it is known that I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! executive producer Richard Cowles is overseeing it for the production arm.
It will be the first major UK show Syco has made without its X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent co-producer Talkback Thames, and executives at the Fremantle Mediaowned indie are thought to be anxious to learn more about the show, which has been largely kept under wraps.
There is no suggestion that the show threatens the relationship at the heart of the existing entertainment juggernauts, but there could be implications for future projects if Syco begins working directly with ITV.
Red And Black represents a major step forward in ITV chief executive Adam Crozier’s plan to regenerate the company’s production arm.
He has tasked ITVS with becoming an international force in formatted entertainment and a deal directly with Cowell, who has helped build The X Factor into the biggest show on British TV, could produce its fi rst big hit since Dancing On Ice in 2006.
Last week, Broadcast revealed that ITVS is also in talks with Feld Entertainment, one of the biggest live event companies in the US, over developing a highimpact format.
An ITV spokesman declined to go into details but confi rmed: “We are discussing new products with Syco.”