ITV Studios Sells Reality TV Format 'Come Dine With Me' to India

LONDON --  Hit reality format Come Dine With Me is set to appear on Indian television screens after ITV Studios Global Entertainment inked a deal with Indian broadcaster Star India Private.

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The deal, for 40 half-hour episodes of the show, marks the first time a local version of the format has been made in Asia. It also brings the total number of international territories producing the show to 36.

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Star India is a subsidiary of Star Group. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. holds a 64 percent stake in the parent company.

ITV Studios Global Entertainment senior vice president of Asia-Pacific, Augustus Dulgaro said: "Come Dine With Me has proven to be a huge hit with audiences around the globe. This deal with Star marks the arrival of Europe’s most-watched TV format in Asia, where we believe it will be equally as popular with viewers."

The deal was brokered by Elsie Choi, senior sales executive for ITV Studios Global Entertainment in Southeast Asia, pan-Asia and India.

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ITV Studios America produces a U.S. version of the show for BBC America.

Come Dine With Me is one of the world’s most successful television formats and is Europe’s top TV format.

Also, ITV Studios Australia has been re-commissioned to produce a fourth series for Foxtel’s Lifestyle Channel to air in 2013. 

Originally commissioned by Channel 4 in the U.K., Come Dine With Me is an ongoing success for the channel. It ranked as its highest-rated daytime show in 2011 and beat the slot average in primetime by 65 percent.

The unscripted factual entertainment format follows amateur chefs competing against each other in hosting a dinner party for the other contestants. Each competitor then rates the host’s performance, and the winner is rewarded with the "ultimate dinner party host" title and a cash prize.