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Sony signs new deal for Asia’s Got Talent

By | Published on Thursday 12 January 2017

Asia's Got Talent

Simon Cowell has scoured the whole wide world for talented people, so far franchising out the ‘Got Talent’ brand to create 70 localised versions of the show everywhere from the US to Moldova.

Having come up with nothing, two years ago he reworked the format so to ensure that more than half of the world’s entire population were eligible to compete, discovering that the real talent was actually in the shadows. Who knew? Hoping to capitalise on that success, ‘Asia’s Got Talent’ has been signed up for a multi-series run.

Sony’s AXN channel aired the first series of English-language show ‘Asia’s Got Talent’ in 20 countries across the Asian market in 2015. Reckoning that there must be at least two talented groups amongst the continent’s 4.4 billion people, Sony Pictures Television Networks has now signed a new multi-year deal with Syco and Freemantle to bring the show back.

“AXN is the home of high quality original productions that are ‘made in Asia, for Asia'”, says Sony Pictures Television’s Virginia Lim. “We were the first channel to premiere a localised, pan-regional format ten years ago and since then have consistently rolled out original productions that truly resonate with our viewers”.

Syco’s George Levendis adds: “The first series of ‘Asia’s Got Talent’ was an undeniable smash on AXN and brought together wonderful talent from 20 markets, making it one of the most engaging, fun and exciting productions globally. With the ‘Got Talent’ franchise now reaching over 70 commissions across the world we are extremely pleased to see ‘Got Talent’ back on air on AXN in 2017 as part of this multi-year agreement”.

Also launching this year is ‘Bhutan’s Got Talent’. The Himalayan state may have a population of less than 800,000, but I reckon that’s where all the real talent is hiding out. Though, I guess, even if that turns out to be true, that will still mean Asia’s got talent.

In other Syco news, a new Companies House filing shows that Sony Music extended its joint venture with Simon Cowell’s business in 2015. As part of the £86.4 million deal, Sony took a 50% slice of Syco Holdings, which increased its stake in its existing joint venture with Cowell, Syco Entertainment, to 75%. The new deal came five years after Sony launched its JV with Cowell, and as he recommitted to working with the major.



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