Boulogne, 20 February 2019
COMING SOON ON TF1!
GLOBAL POP CULTURE PHENOMENON
“THE MASKED SINGER”
In association with production company Hervé Hubert, TF1 is to adapt the global phenomenon
“The Masked Singer”, continuing the Group’s ambition of enriching its event TV offer and bringing people together.
“The Masked Singer” has been the biggest international light entertainment hit of recent years, with more than 400 programmes and 500 million fans.
Broadcast since 2015 on MBC in South Korea, where it is called King of Mask Singer, audiences tripled in the show’s first season. The show is still on MBC after four seasons (190 programmes to date), keeping it in the no.1 slot week after week. Following the show’s success in Korea, is has been adapted in Thailand, China, Indonesia and Vietnam. After its triumph in Asia, on 2 January 2019, the American Fox channel launched its first season of The Masked Singer on prime time, ordering 10 programmes directly and achieving the best launch for an unscripted show on Fox for 7 years (excluding post-NFL), or 11 years if we include multiplatform views. The launch episode has to date recorded more than 17 million multiplatform views and has already racked up 3.6 million views on Hulu and Fox Now.
“The Masked Singer”: an amazing concept
The American version pits against each other 12 costumed and masked celebrities whose identity is concealed from the other contestants, the judges and the public, with one contestant eliminated at the end of each programme. The show is presented by Nick Cannon and the jury includes Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke. The celebrities (actors, presenters, sportspeople, journalists, influencers and comedians) compete against each other by singing well-known songs. The principle is simple: after each performance the jury (comprising 4 stars) question the contestant who has just sung to try to guess their identity. The voice of the contestant is not disguised when they sing, but it is when they are replying to the jury’s questions to avoid revealing their identity. It is only at the end of each game, when the public and the jury vote, that the identity of the eliminated contestants is revealed. The other celebrities return in the following programme but without giving away their identity, which is only revealed as each of them is eliminated.
Camille Combal will present the show in France
After his dynamic performance as host of the 9th season of Danse avec les Stars, and having taken over from the incomparable Jean-Pierre Foucault at the helm of Qui veut gagner des millions, Camille Combal will be taking charge of this new programme – already a cult show – described by the Washington Post as “one of the weirdest entertainments of our age”.
Will it be the Unicorn, the Hippopotamus, the Poodle, the Peacock, the Pineapple, the Alien or the Rabbit who will win this wacky competition? Find out by following “The Masked Singer” on TF1.
The grand revamp of TF1’s light entertainment offer
This acquisition illustrates yet again TF1’s ambition to bring the public together to watch television’s biggest events.
Fabrice Bailly, Head of Programmes and Acquisitions at the TF1 group: “Coming after the launch of the 8th season of The Voice, which attracted nearly 7 million viewers, the return of Koh-Lanta (15 March) and the forthcoming shooting of the new season of Ninja Warrior and the survival reality show “Je suis une Célébrité”, The Masked Singer is the latest of the TF1 group’s big franchises and absolutely in line with our multi-channel, multi-screen strategy. We are delighted with our partnership with the production company Hervé Hubert, which will enable us to offer this new show to French, Swiss and Belgian audiences. ”
The American video trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPAOS64gYcc
About the TF1 group
We are the leading private-sector television broadcaster in France, with five unencrypted channels (TF1, TMC, TFX, TF1 Séries Films and LCI) and four pay-TV theme channels (TV Breizh, Histoire, Ushuaïa and Serieclub, the last of which is 50% owned). We are adding a highly effective digital dimension to our channels on MYTF1, and video-on-demand offers via MYTF1VOD and TFOU MAX.
We are also present in the production and distribution of content, mainly via Newen, through which we aim to accelerate international expansion of our production and distribution activities.
We have extended our digital footprint, in particular through the acquisition of the aufeminin group in April 2018. This led to the creation of a digital division build around well-known brands such as Marmiton, MyLittleParis and Doctissimo, all of which support strong, engaged communities.
This has enhanced our offer and our ability to deploy federating, complementary special-interest themes to reach all audiences, especially women and millennials.
The TF1 group has created a large range of businesses in key entertainment and leisure fields, with TF1 Entertainment (board games, music and live show production, licences and publishing); the film industry with TF1 Films Production and TF1 Studio.
The TF1 group currently has a presence in 10 countries and employs 3,135 people.
The TF1 group is quoted on the Paris stock exchange (Euronext Paris: ISIN FR0000054900).