IONOCO CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY POWERS BOOM! Brace of U.S. formats driven by ionoco systems and technology June 29th 2015
IONOCO game-control and graphics systems are at the heart of Keshet International’s new game show BOOM!, which premiered in the U.S. on Thursday, June 25 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ionoco has worked on several versions of Keshet International’s hit format, in which players defuse “bombs” by answering trivia questions against the clock, in several territories, including Israel and Chile. The U.K. broadcast technology specialist supplied the graphics, gameplay, lighting control and sound-control system for the high-octane format, as well as the bomb wire interface that controls the explosion.
Based on an original format created by Keshet and Ido Rosenblum and produced by Keshet DCP, BOOM! is executive-produced by Jeff Apploff (“Don’t Forget the Lyrics”), Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, Avi Nir, Alon Shtruzman, Ran Telem and Ido Rosenblum. Mark Bracco, Assaf Blecher and Bob Boden (“The Chase”) serve as co-executive producers. Combining high drama and high stakes with high comedy in a fun-filled, trivia-charged, slime-soaked entertainment blast, BOOM! is hosted by comedian Tom Papa (“The Marriage Ref”). BOOM! is a general knowledge quiz show that challenges teams of three players to defuse a series of ticking slime-bombs, by dramatically cutting the wires relating to the correct answers and leaving the wrong answers untouched. Get it right – and the players win big money. Get it wrong or run out of time – and, after a tense countdown, the players – and portions of the audience – are showered with anything from “guacamole” to “mashed potatoes,” forcing the players out of the game.
Apploff said: “Whenever we do a production, ionoco is always my first call. On BOOM!, there were more moving parts than any show we’ve ever produced, and all of them run through the ionoco system. BOOM! is so big and colorful and fun to watch, but none of it could have been done without the technical brilliance of our friends and partners at ionoco.”
Simon Ingram, ionoco Group chief executive, said: “There aren’t many shows that can make you laugh while giving your heart failure. BOOM! is a big, brave idea — and it needed big, brave technology to make it work. We are proud to have played a part in bringing BOOM! to the U.S., where we are sure it will be an explosive success in every sense.”
BOOM!’s debut follows on the heels of another primetime U.S. format powered by ionoco technology. Billed as the ultimate test of intellect, strategy and stamina, 500 Questions launched on ABC on May 20, inviting the smartest people in the U.S. to answer 500 of the most difficult general-knowledge questions ever devised. The stripped 60-minute show, which features ionoco graphics, gameplay and multiple screen feeds, is co-produced by Emmy Award-winning producer Mark Burnett, Mike Darnell and Phil Parsons. In other U.S. news, ionoco has been servicing the second series of hit U.S. show @midnight, for which it supplied the gameplay, graphics, buzzers and contestant tablets. The celebrity-driven late-night show has succeeded in “winning the internet” — along with huge audiences for Comedy Central — with its blend of topical comedy, game-show elements and social media. ionoco is also working on FOX’s ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER?, Nat Geo Wild’s National Geographic Bee and ABC’s Celebrity Family Feud. The last is the 17th series of the Family Feud franchise, produced by FremantleMedia North America, with which ionoco has been involved.
About ionoco (www.ionoco.com): ionoco provides bespoke technology that supports and enables the creative vision of producers active in broadcasting, marketing, advertising, event organisation, lotteries and gaming. The company’s proprietary systems have been proven over thousands of hours of output on productions spanning the globe. ionoco technology powers some of the world’s most successful shows - Celebrity Name Game, Win Your Wish List, The Chase, Million Second Quiz, Money Drop and Hollywood Game Night - for some of the most powerful names in television entertainment, including the BBC, Endemol, ABC, FremantleMedia, NBC, ITV Global Entertainment, Talpa, NBCUniversal, CBS, The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), Sony Pictures Entertainment, SYCO and Disney. ionoco is headquartered in Winchester in the UK with offices in France and the US with associates in Asia and the Middle East.
“Like” BOOM! on Facebook at facebook.com/BOOMonFOX. Follow the series on Twitter @BOOMonFOX and join the discussion using #boom.
For further information, please contact: Cheryl Clarke at Mushroom Media on: Tel: (+44) 7939 554109 E: cheryl@mushroom-media.co.uk
