Banijay wants to bring some Fear Factor to Europe.
The revival of the NBC show, which launched on Fox last year hosted by Johnny Knoxville, has achieved stellar ratings in the U.S. and the distributor used its London TV Screenings event yesterday to talk up European ambitions.
Season 2 talks in the States are “well underway, and we are well into talks about hubs across Europe,” according to Lucas Green, Banijay’s Chief Content Officer, Operations. Late last year, Denmark’s TV2 revealed it had greenlit a local version.
Produced by Banijay-owned Endemol Shine North America, Fear Factor was revived last year by Fox with a new name, Fear Factor: House of Fear, and tweaked format. The stunt/dare show, which was originally hosted by Joe Rogan in the Noughties when it was on NBC, sees contestants pitted against each other in challenges that force them to face their greatest fears. It was briefly revived for MTV a decade ago but last year’s Fox version pulled in solid ratings, even cited by CEO Lachlan Murdoch as a success story alongside Memory of a Killer and Best Medicine.
Banijay sells Fear Factor worldwide and opening a hub or several in Europe would be an obvious step in order to keep costs down and roll out the show in several territories. Hubbing has become more commonplace over the years, with big formats like Ninja Warrior and The Wall opting for the practice.
Knoxville addressed dozens of buyers at Banijay’s London TV Screenings event at BAFTA via videolink. “I loved hosting this show because I’m a monster and enjoyed seeing people in the throes of terror,” he joked. “And I actually hate to admit it but I enjoy helping people push through their fears to achieve something they didn’t think they could do.”
On show at the Banijay event was a wealth of new formats from around Europe including Football Island and cooking show 100 Knives, while Deadline revealed yesterday two new Dutch formats, The Bicycle Race and Last One Standing. There was also music talent contest Staying Alive, which utilizes AI to allow chart-topping artists to perform with icons including Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, and Freddie Mercury. Banijay revealed yesterday that the team has just landed permission from the Presley estate to use his likeness outside of Germany, where the show airs on streamer Joyn.
Love Island-esque Villa of Temptations, the best-performing format in Joyn’s history, was also on show and Green revealed Banijay is in negotiations over a streamer deal with that one.
Banijay was also talking up the potential to find formats on YouTube. We recently revealed that original YouTube format Let’s Play Ball is in development with UK network ITV and Banijay said yesterday it is also being developed in the U.S.
James Townley, Banijay’s Chief Content Officer, Development, said “formats now need to be brands at conception” as he talked up Banijay’s wealth of third-party partnerships including a new one with Japanese Last One Laughing creator Yoshimoto Kogyo.
The elephant in the room was the Banijay-All3Media merger. Were that one to complete, the complexion of this screening could look rather different at the London TV Screenings 2027. Our analysis is here.