IONOCO HELPS THE US TO HAVE BEST TIME EVER
New NBC primetime show powered by ionoco systems and technology
September 15th 2015
ionoco technology and systems will be helping to power the innovative new NBC series, Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris, premiering on September 15. ionoco is providing a live stage-control system with real-time 3D graphics, gameplay, lighting and sound control and host-information display for the Get Lucky segment of Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris, which is produced by ITV Studios America, in association with Prediction Productions, Inc. and based on the popular British hit, Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
In the mini-game show within the show, a member of the audience has 60 seconds to answer as many questions as possible to win various prizes — anything from a luxury car to a dream holiday to a bag of chips. Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris is a live show which will feature appearances by A-list stars, stunts, comedy skits, incredible performances, mini game shows, audience giveaways and hidden camera pranks.
Simon Ingram, ionoco Group chief executive, said: “The US networks are focusing on live entertainment shows to entice audiences to watch content in real-time. If any show can achieve that, it’s Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris. This is event programming of the highest calibre — it’s not just cool, fun and spontaneous, but it’s of the moment and happening in the moment, just as entertainment should be. It’s a privilege to work with the amazing Neil Patrick Harris and ITV Studios teams to help bring this great show to life.”
Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris follows on the heels of two other primetime US formats powered by ionoco technology. In June, Fox premiered Keshet International’s game show BOOM!, in which players defuse slime-bombs by answering trivia questions against the clock. The UK 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. A month earlier, ABC launched 500 Questions, in which the smartest people in the US are invited to answer 500 of the most difficult general-knowledge questions ever devised. The stripped 60-minute show features ionoco storage-control system, providing graphics, gameplay, sound and lighting control, and multiple synchronised video feeds. In addition this year, ionoco has serviced the second series of hit US show @midnight, for which it supplied the technology to bring social-media and guest content to air.
The company is also delivering the game tech for the second series of FOX’s Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader and Nat Geo Wild’s National Geographic Bee. It is also working on ABC’s Celebrity Family Feud with Steve Harvey and the latest season of the syndicated Family Feud franchise, both produced by FremantleMedia North America. Neil Patrick Harris, Siobhan Greene, David A. Hurwitz, Anthony McPartlin, Declan Donnelly and Orly Adelson executive produce Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris.
For further information, please contact: Cheryl Clarke at Mushroom Media on: Tel: (+44)20 7939 554109 E: cheryl@mushroom-media.co.uk Notes to editors: 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 Studios, 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.
