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Valencia-based Good Formats is presenting two U.S. pilots of the long-running European word game “El Rosco” at Mipcom, targeting North American buyers for the first time.
Produced in Los Angeles, “Run the Ring” is a
half-hour English-language version, while “El Rosco” runs for an hour in Spanish. Both feature Spanish TV presenter Christian Gálvez, who has hosted more than 3,500 episodes featuring the game.
First introduced on Italy’s Canale 5 in 1999, the word game has appeared in more than 10,000 episodes across 12 countries, according to Good Formats. The format has never aired in North America, said Andrea Olcese, its original showrunner.
Olcese has partnered with U.S. producer Lincoln Hiatt to develop the two versions, which differ in language and running time.
“All of the essential elements and beats of our format are applied across both editions of the pilot,” Hiatt told Variety. “Both feature returning champions who have the potential to become popular heroes the way Ken Jennings was.”
Jennings won a record 74 consecutive games on “Jeopardy!” in 2004 and later became the show’s host.
According to Hiatt, both pilots include returning champions competing against challengers and a progressive jackpot. Their different lengths are intended to offer broadcasters alternative scheduling options.
“Half hours can run back-to-back in prime time with perfect continuity because of the way the champions and the jackpot work,” he said.
Hiatt said the development process involved creating preliminary games leading to the established final word-game challenge.
“What Andrea brought to me was this great gift that we call the final ring,” he said. “The front half of the show needed to be created.”
Gálvez participated in the development alongside format specialist Axel Fiacco, Jeff Kmiotek and consulting producer Aaron Solomon.
The Mipcom presentation follows a May ruling by Spain’s Supreme Court concerning the game’s intellectual property rights.
“MC&F Broadcasting Production and Distribution CV from the Netherlands has created and held all the original rights since 1999,” Olcese said. “From 2012, Good Formats S.L. in Valencia has been the official distributor.”
“Mediaset now holds exclusive rights for Spain and Italy due to a long-standing relationship, but it is not involved in the international distribution,” he added.
Beyond North America, Good Formats is considering partnerships in other markets, particularly Asia, where it works with Dubai-based MediaLeisure.
“We are ambitious about reaching a global audience but understand the significant effort this requires,” Olcese said.
The company says it generally prefers licensing directly to broadcasters and platforms, while remaining open to agreements with regional production companies.
