‘Love Island Australia.’
New Zealand broadcaster MediaWorks’ flagship channel Three has commissioned a local version of the Love Island format – the first commission across the Tasman for ITV Studios Australia.
In addition, Three has acquired the rights to the second series of Love Island Australia, series 5 of the UK version and the first series of Love Island US, which CBS ordered last August.
Last year Television New Zealand aired Love Island Australia as well as Love Island UK on TV2 and TVNZ OnDemand.
The Nine Network commissioned a second series for its main network after the first premiered on 9Go! and broke viewing records for its catch-up service 9Now.
This will be a record year for production for ITV Studios Australia (ITVSA) with a slate which includes its first scripted project, Seachange – Paradise Reclaimed, a co-production with Every Cloud Productions, plus Operation Live, Sunday Night Takeaway, The Voice, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! and The Chase.
David Mott, ITVSA CEO and MD, said: “Part of our ongoing strategy is to grow and develop production opportunities beyond Australia, with New Zealand being a key market for us. For Love Island to be our first commission in the territory is really exciting and we can’t wait to start working with Three to make the series a hit there.”
MediaWorks chief content officer Andrew Szusterman added: “Love Island takes the concept of ‘appointment viewing’ to a whole new level and has been smashing records on air along with creating unprecedented social media hype and audience engagement.”