Munich, February 16, 2009. At 8 pm on Friday, the international smash hit game show “Beat your Host” will premier live on Croatia’s largest commercial TV station, RTL, under the title “Pobijedi Šolu” (“Beat Šola”). Contestants on RTL will face former professional handball player Vlado Šola as the competing host. Presenting host will be Belma Hodžić. Following the German original created by RaabTV/BRAINPOOL, Šola will go 15 rounds against a contestant from the audience. The challenges, studio look and on-air design for the Croatian version will also be based entirely on the German concept.
Challenger Vlado Šola is one of Croatia’s best-known athletes. During his career in sports he brought the national handball team not just the world championship in 2003, but also Olympic gold a year later. Most recently he commented on the handball world championships for Croatian TV this January.
Said Jens Richter of SevenOne International: “‘Beat your Host!’ is one of the most successful event entertainment brands in the international TV scene. Over the past twelve months we’ve launched the prime-time show with record-breaking ratings in the United Kingdom, France, Sweden and Denmark. We are sure that our Croatian colleagues at RTL will have just as much success.”
Christoph Oldenburg, Senior Editor Entertainment Programs of RTL Televisija: “‘Pobijedi Šola’ is one of the biggest game show productions ever made for Croatian TV. We’ll be setting new records for the length of the show, the size of the studio, and the amount of the prize. We’ve been excited about the idea from the very start, and I’m certain our audiences will feel the same way.”
SevenOne International has sold “Beat your Host!” (produced by Raab TV/BRAINPOOL) for broadcast in 14 countries so far, including Spain, the Netherlands, and China. Early in 2008, the British version of the show, “Beat the Star”, aired on UK’s leading commercial channel ITV1 in one of the world’s most important TV markets. ITV1 will run a secondseason of the show this spring. In France, where it aired on TF1 as “Qui peut battre Benjamin Castaldi?”, the show captured an audience share of more than 40 percent (viewers 15-49). With consistently growing audience figures to its credit, “Qui peut battre Benjamin Castaldi?” was the clear prime time winner in the advertising-relevant demographic. In Sweden, the show “Vem kan slå Filip och Fredrik” drew market shares of up to 39.5 percent (viewers 15-44), making it the most successful production in Kanal 5’s history. The launch of “Hvem kan slå Joachim & Marianne?” on Denmark’s TV2 scored a 57.1 percent share (viewers 21-50). In Germany, its country of origin, “Beat your Host!” had the most successful TV debut for ProSieben in more than four years. Since its debut, the show’s 15 editions have been earning average audience shares of 25.2 percent (viewers 14-49).
Beat your Host!
Something new under the sun the audience vs. the host. On “Beat your Host!”, a contestant duels the star for breathtaking amounts of money. The minimum prize on the German version of the show is EUR 500,000. If the celebrity wins, the prize money goes into the jackpot. A contestant who wins takes the cash home. Victory in the competition depends on a number of factors in several areas – skills, sports, knowledge, daring, and not least of all, sheer luck.