Luxembourg –March 15, 2006- SBS Brainstation, SBS Broadcasting's creative think-tank, has its first bona fide format hit in Gay Army, an original format conceived by independent Danish creative duo Babyfoot.
Represented by format distributor Zodiak Television World, the format was initially picked up in the second quarter of 2005 by SBS's Scandinavian stations, Kanal 5 serving Sweden, Denmark's TVDanmark and Norway's TVNorge.
In Norway and Denmark, Gay Army will debut shortly and will be aired once a week in prime time. In Sweden, however, Gay Army hit the Kanal 5 airwaves on November 20, 2005, garnering an extraordinary amount of media attention as well as viewers.
Earning an average of 250,000 viewers per episode, Gay Army has consistently drawn a 5.0 rating among the 15-44-year-old demographic targeted by Kanal 5. Surprisingly to some perhaps is that the show is even more popular among women 15-34, where it scores an average 5.5 rating.
Touting the format as a 'winning idea' while also praising its co-production potential, Daniela Matei, vice president of production and programming at SBS, said she has high hopes for the format, which she believes also has strong international appeal.
"We're in the content business," said Matei, "which makes finding great ideas our primary goal. We also believe in sharing the success of those great ideas with our creative partners. It's not only the right thing to do but it also demonstrates to other potential creative partners the benefits of working with SBS. Overall, SBS's Brainstation provides a wonderful combination of a collaborative creative environment, the support of experienced programming and production executives and equitable financial arrangements, all of which we hope will bring more creators and more great ideas to the table."
Participating in the second SBS Brainstation gathering in February 2004 in Stockholm, Babyfoot's Gay Army concept was a clear stand-out among competitors. Recognizing the hit potential of the format, SBS signed an exclusive one-year development deal with the Danish duo. Over the next year, Babyfoot, working with SBS programming executives, fully honed and developed the Gay Army concept, resulting in the Scandinavian commissions in Spring 2005.
The Gay Army concept has eight gay volunteers put through an intensive military recruit training program overseen by Tony Rosenbaum, the former drill sergeant on Fox's Boot Camp. Best described as a Boot Camp with more than a touch of Queer Eye queening thrown in for good measure, the final test for the recruits, and the last episode of the show, is a head-to-head battle with a real army platoon.
