Sony Buys Production Company 2waytraffic

06 Jun

Posted by Alex Davis as That's The Question, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

EDIT: Since it’s being possible this is construed in a different way, I’ll just note right now that no, I obviously don’t think Sony’s shows are bad. I loved Russian Roulette and Power of 10, Jeopardy! is great, Wheel of Fortune is a bit flashy but still good, and Pyramid was a bit too modern but still the old show. The only Sony shows I have issues with are the two new ones, and they didn’t, as paraphrased, “suck ass”. They were just boring and not that good. Sorry if it makes people connected upset personally or professionally, but I just feel it is.

Sony is nearly the most powerful game show company in the world these days. They already have Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!. And now with this new deal, they also have Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. Sony has acquired Dutch production company 2waytraffic for $223 million. In the US, 2waytraffic will basically be known for the popular syndicated Millionaire? as well as GSN’s fun original That’s The Question which sadly looks to be dead right now. 2waytraffic was formed by two former executives of Endemol, who makes overproduced nearly scripted game shows like Deal or No Deal.

Though Sony has the two of the biggest formats in the world (three now), they have not been able to find another popular lasting show. The most recent popular ones were Russian Roulette, Power of 10, and Pyramid, but both left within two seasons (Pyramid and Power of 10 for ratings, Russian Roulette for network rebranding). They also have not been able to gain any clearances on new formats in the US or around the world recently and they think this could help. The last time they tried was The Joker’s Wild and Combination Lock, which just were not very good and boring. They hope by acquiring 2waytraffic and its extensive library of formats, they hope to sell more shows to a foreign market.

6 Responses

Nick Todor
1
June 6th, 2008 at 9:47 am

You forgot to mention something. Michael Davies has had connections with Sony before, so a new run of “Millionaire” is now more possible than ever.
devares
2
June 6th, 2008 at 10:10 am

True. Also, it will be interesting how they’ll do Millionaire. Will they do like Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune (in other words collaborate with Disney-ABC the way they currently do with CBS Television Distribution)? Or buy out Disney and control Millionaire? This should be interesting…..
Greg
3
June 6th, 2008 at 11:55 am

Disney-ABC will continue to distribute “Millionaire”. They will probably just put an SPE byline at the bottom of 2waytraffic’s logo (like they did with Merv Griffin’s in the early 90’s).
DB25
4
June 6th, 2008 at 12:00 pm

“The last time they tried was The Joker’s Wild and Combination Lock, which just were not very good and very boring.”

Really? I didn’t hear that. I heard that all the good SYN slots were already sold so it was pushed back to the 2009 - 2010 season.
MrGameShow
5
June 6th, 2008 at 10:46 pm

Ummm.. Alex?

Maybe this is just the “looking ahead in my career” part of me talking - but two things:

A) Have you actually SEEN either of those pilots to make those calls, or are they “just (were) not very good and very boring” cause they didn’t appear on TV this year?

B) You are trying to get work with 2wayTraffic, which, as you just reported, was BOUGHT by the company that you’ve just slammed of their new products - likely without due cause other than a personal rivalry with the creator.

Which part of “Hey New Boss, your new pitched shows SUCK ASS!” doesn’t seem to mesh here? ;)
Alex Davis
6
June 6th, 2008 at 10:51 pm

Sly slams lose their meaning when there’s winks at the end.

I’ve seen Combination Lock, someone sent me pitch videos and more, and I’m sorry but it was really boring. It’s beyond the “feud” which has been over for a while. It was boring, repetitive, with a crappy end game and an equally boring host as he is still on Crosswords. I’d be glad to make a post of reasons why I feel Combination Lock sucks if it won’t get taken down in a day by Sony.

And as for the other one, I’m not really that worried. I’ve slammed Chain Reaction to the high heavens and Embassy Row has been nothing but nice to me. I’ve done the same with GSN and other and everyone, network or production company, has been more than nice. If this is the one place that acts like this, oh well.