Format

A Wheel in Dispute

A Wheel in Dispute
Pasapalabra is undoubtedly one of the most successful Spanish game shows of all time. Broadcast on Antena 3 since 2000, it moved to Telecinco in 2007 with the famous Cristian Gálvez as host. On 2 October 2019, the show was pulled from Telecinco after the Spanish Supreme Court ruled in favour of ITV Studios in a royalty dispute over the rights to the Pasapalabra format (which we'll discuss shortly). In 2020, Antena 3 brought it back on the air, where it continues to be broadcast, always with excellent ratings.
The game comes from the English format The Alphabet Game (it was broadcast for two seasons on the BBC), but the big leap came with the Italian version, which was broadcast from 1999 to 2008 under the title Passaparola. It was in this version that the most iconic game - El Final Rosco (The Final Wheel) - was added (I am quite familiar with the subject, having personally created the Final Wheel almost 30 years ago, in 1998, on request of the Italian producer).
And this is where the legal problems begin, because the production company MC&F, the parent company of another prodco - Good Services, based in Sliema (Malta) - claims the intellectual property of El Rosco as an autonomous programme respecting Pasapalabra, thus coming into conflict with ITV, which owns the international rights to the game. After years, in 2023, the General Court of the European Union (GCEU) confirmed that El Rosco is a trademark of the television programme Pasapalabra, owned by ITV (you can find a summary of the dispute here).
Now that the court case seems to be over (unless there are further twists and turns), Pasapalabra has continued to be broadcast successfully outside Spain: in October 2024, Pasapalabra returned to the screens of Chilevisión; and - the latest news - it will have a new season on Argentine Telefe, where it has been broadcast since 2002, with numerous interruptions, produced by ITV Studios and Kocawa.

To continue to read the article, with a brand-new spectacular talent show and two Netflix’s datings go to Espresso

SUBSCRIBE TO the world’s most followed independent FREE NEWSLETTER to receive weekly updates on FORMATS, MARKETS & TRENDS around the world by clicking here: Subscribe
Fromatbiz_900x120_ValleyOfHearts_LoveAndPride
G00680_FORMATBIZZ_DIGITAL_BANNER_900x120_TRAITORS_FINAL
34-STAT-EN-FORMATBIZ-900-X-120-PX
IL MAMMO_900x120