Panama deal for Venevision gameshow format

Venezuelan gameshow format Guerra de los Sexos (Battle of the Sexes) is to be produced in Panama, continuing distributor Venevision International's expansion into the unscripted format business.

Televisora Nacional (TVN) of Panama will produce and air the local version, which was devised and originally aired by Cisneros Group-owned Venevision in Venezuela, as part of the variety show Sensational Super Saturday.

"For several years, we have offered our viewers the Venezuelan version of this programme; now we have taken this important step which we are sure will please our television audience," said Luis Mouynes, director of production and programming at TVN.

The Guerra de los Sexos format has already been produced for TCTV in Ecuador. "The emphasis on the sale of formats responds to the company's diversification strategy and to the new trends we envision for the international markets," said Manuel Perez, VP and chief financial officer at Venevision International.

The distributor has for many years sold formats as well as telenovelas, with local versions of its talkshows, gameshows and dramas airing in several territories. "An example of this is the success achieved by channel Astro Ria in Malaysia with the format of our teen series Somos tu y Yo (You and Me)," added Cesar Diaz, VP of sales at Venevision International.