FormatBiz | Dancing With The Stars format reaches 60th territory milestone

BBC Studios has sold the Dancing with the Stars format to Mongolia, making it the 60th territory to license the hit entertainment format. Produced for Mongol TV, the 13-part series is set to air in early 2021.

André Renaud, Senior Vice President for Global Format Sales at BBC Studios Distribution said “Being able to celebrate this milestone 60th license of Dancing with the Stars is a real thrill for BBC Studios and all of the teams behind this successful brand, showing how bold British creativity continues to entertain people around the world. I’m so glad that we can share this moment with Mongol TV’s commission of the series and I know that Dancing with the Stars will dance its way into the hearts of audiences in Mongolia – I welcome the team at Mongol TV to the Dancing with the Stars family!”

Nomin Chinbat from Mongol TV said: “We are really proud and excited to produce Dancing with the Stars Mongolia. We are certain that it will be a hit in Mongolia like everywhere else.”

Since Australia’s Channel 7 first local adaption in 2004, Dancing with the Stars has become a global phenomenon with over 350 series and 4,000 episodes of the award-winning format aired in countries such as the United States, India, South Africa, and Russia. In fact, the series has aired in every continent on earth except Antarctica (but there is still time...).

Dancing with the Stars is known around the world for its show-stopping choreography, charismatic judging panels and fun family entertainment, full of energy, glitz and glamour. Famous faces that have taken to the dance floor include Kim Kardashian, Buzz Aldrin, and even Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy. The first episode of the latest US series (S29) premiered on Monday 14th Sept 2020 featuring new host Tyra Banks and Derek Hough stepping-in as a judge. The show was the #1 entertainment show of the night and up an impressive 30% in the18-49 demographic year on year.

The format is continually seeking ways to keep international audiences dazzled and break boundaries:

The Danish series saw the first ever same sex couple to win the show in 2019. Actor and comedian Jakob Fauerby and his dance partner Silas Holst.
Dutch Paralympic champion Bibian Mentel was the first celebrity to dance in a wheelchair and made it through to the final in 2019, whilst model Nyle DiMarco became the first deaf winner of Dancing with the Stars in the US in 2016.
Aged 91, Italian actor and film director Giorgio Albertazzi was the show’s oldest contestant, competing in the Italian version of the show in 2014.
Filming restrictions this year saw productions using innovative and creative ways to bring the show to screens. In Australia, a dazzling rooftop dance was filmed using remote cameras.

Some celebrities can’t get enough of their experience on the dancefloor. Rossy de Palma competed for the glitterball trophy in both France and Spain, whilst Pamela Anderson vied for success in the US and French versions. However Alfons Haider is the only person in Dancing with the Stars history who has been the main host, a backstage host, a judge and celebrity contestant on the Austrian version of the show.

Brand new episodes of the format are currently on air this week in the US, Italy, Ukraine, Finland, Nepal, Norway and Poland.