Hot on the heels of revealing that its globally produced original hours in 2018 hit a record high of over 8,500 hours, ITV Studios (ITVS) has announced two new international versions of its and Motion Content Group’s format Love Island will air in 2019.
Love Island sees young, glamorous occupants live a celebrity lifestyle in a villa in a beautiful island location. They are on the lookout for romance but as always, the road to love never runs smoothly, as they must not only choose their partner wisely but also win the hearts of the public. It’s up to the viewers to decide who they want to stay in the show as they watch the relationships develop and ultimately which pair they want to crown the hottest couple on the island.
The new deals — which see new Polish and Dutch/Flemish versions to launch and second and third season renewals for Sweden and Germany — take the total number of original commissions for the programme to 11 countries.
In Belgium, SBS has licensed the format, which will be a co-production with RTL in the Netherlands. This version will feature Islanders from both countries and will be co-produced by Lecter Belgium and ITV Studios Netherlands. Meanwhile, Polsat has ordered the show for Poland, which will be produced by Jakevision. Love Island has also been recommissioned in Sweden (TV4) and Germany (RTL II) following highly successful first and second seasons respectively.
In the UK, where Love Island became the most tweeted about show of 2018, according to data from Kantar Social Media Intelligence, ITV2 will air its fifth season later this year. The launch of season four in the UK delivered ITV2’s highest overnight ratings since records began and was the highest-rated show across all channels in the 9.00PM slot.
The programme will also make its US debut on CBS, while a second season in Australia was confirmed last year. The overall number of international production hours for Love Island tripled in 2018.
Viewing records were smashed in several territories in 2018, with Germany joining the UK and Australia in achieving huge ratings success. The second season on RTL II became the most streamed show on Germany’s TV Now catch-up service, while the first episode of Nine Network’s Love Island Australia garnered the highest-ever Video Player Measurement (VPM) ratings of any Australian reality show on its catch-up service 9Now, within 24 hours of broadcast.
“Love Island’s unique blend of light-hearted fun, meaningful relationships, and window on youth culture, has made it one of most-talked about shows of the year, not only in the UK but in every country it has aired,” said Mike Beale, managing director, Nordics and ITV Studios Global Creative Network. “With two new versions launching and more in the pipeline, as well as the previously announced US version and returning series, the brand is set to make a step change in 2019 and that is a very exciting prospect indeed for us and our brilliant international partners.”
Richard Foster, CEO of Motion Content Group added: “We are delighted to continue to work closely with ITV Studios and the commissioning broadcasters to create funding opportunities around the Love Island phenomenon.”
The new deals — which see new Polish and Dutch/Flemish versions to launch and second and third season renewals for Sweden and Germany — take the total number of original commissions for the programme to 11 countries.
In Belgium, SBS has licensed the format, which will be a co-production with RTL in the Netherlands. This version will feature Islanders from both countries and will be co-produced by Lecter Belgium and ITV Studios Netherlands. Meanwhile, Polsat has ordered the show for Poland, which will be produced by Jakevision. Love Island has also been recommissioned in Sweden (TV4) and Germany (RTL II) following highly successful first and second seasons respectively.
In the UK, where Love Island became the most tweeted about show of 2018, according to data from Kantar Social Media Intelligence, ITV2 will air its fifth season later this year. The launch of season four in the UK delivered ITV2’s highest overnight ratings since records began and was the highest-rated show across all channels in the 9.00PM slot.
The programme will also make its US debut on CBS, while a second season in Australia was confirmed last year. The overall number of international production hours for Love Island tripled in 2018.
Viewing records were smashed in several territories in 2018, with Germany joining the UK and Australia in achieving huge ratings success. The second season on RTL II became the most streamed show on Germany’s TV Now catch-up service, while the first episode of Nine Network’s Love Island Australia garnered the highest-ever Video Player Measurement (VPM) ratings of any Australian reality show on its catch-up service 9Now, within 24 hours of broadcast.
“Love Island’s unique blend of light-hearted fun, meaningful relationships, and window on youth culture, has made it one of most-talked about shows of the year, not only in the UK but in every country it has aired,” said Mike Beale, managing director, Nordics and ITV Studios Global Creative Network. “With two new versions launching and more in the pipeline, as well as the previously announced US version and returning series, the brand is set to make a step change in 2019 and that is a very exciting prospect indeed for us and our brilliant international partners.”
Richard Foster, CEO of Motion Content Group added: “We are delighted to continue to work closely with ITV Studios and the commissioning broadcasters to create funding opportunities around the Love Island phenomenon.”
