CANNES, FRANCE & TOKYO, JAPAN – October 16, 2017 – On the first day of MIPCOM, Nippon Television Network Corporation (NipponTV), currently ranked as the #1 TV broadcaster in Japan for the past three consecutive years, announced today that CJ E&M, Asia’s leading content and media company headquartered in Korea, has acquired the format rights to their award-winning drama series Mother (11 x 60’) and will be remaking the series in Korea. The drama remake is set to air beginning January 2018 on CJ E&M’s general entertainment channel, tvN. The series, also titled Mother in Korean, will star the popular Korean actress Lee Bo Young and will be directed by Kim Chul Kyu, based on a script by Jeong Seo-Gyeong. The deal marks the first time that CJ E&M, known for their hit dramas and original content, will remake a Nippon TV drama. The announcement was made jointly today by Mr. Atsushi Hatayama, President of International Business Development for Nippon TV, and Mr. Jang-ho Seo, the General Manager of CJ E&M’s Global Content Business Division.
“Having announced last year our deal for the Turkish format of Mother(ANNE) which has been a ratings success in Turkey, it is an honor to be unveiling today our new venture with CJ E&M for the Korean version of Mother. We are striving to continually advance Nippon TV’s positon in overseas markets and this deal, which we are confident will be a tremendous hit in Korea thanks to the great team at CJ E&M, is further evidence of our continued growth and expansion around the world, “commented Mr. Hatayama.
“Mother has a great storyline that has already proved successful in other global remake versions, including the mega hit in Turkey. We are confident that the Korean version of Mother by CJ E&M will also be able to capture the hearts of not only Korean viewers, but also international audience,” added Mr. Seo.
Nippon TV has had prior success with three of their scripted formats being remade as Korean dramas. The titles were all originally great hits in Japan, including I’m Mita, Your Housekeeper, The Pride of the Temp, and The Queen’s Classroom. Mother’s deal marks the first time in almost five years that Nippon TV’s drama will be remade and aired in Korea.
ABOUT MOTHER
Child abuse is arguably one of the cruelest of crimes. Just as horrendous is the all-too common tendency of society to turn a blind eye to this abuse. Mother is the story of a woman who responds to an abused girl's silent cries of help. The drama follows an aloof 30+-year-old woman who works reluctantly as an elementary school teacher and notices bruises on her first-grade student. Initially, like everyone else, she looks the other way. But the student’s wretched desperation soon awakens a passion and determination in this caring teacher. Together they skip town and embark on a risky journey pretending to be mother and child. Mother chronicles the transformation of a once disenchanted woman who suddenly takes on the role of a parent to a child who is starved for maternal love. The drama probes into the meaning of motherhood in modern society.
ABOUT CJ E&M
CJ E&M is Asia’s leading content and media company headquartered in Seoul, Korea. With five main business units -broadcast, film, music, live entertainment and animation, CJ E&M provides its top notch original contents to various media platforms. Always ahead of trends to follow, CJ E&M delivers its values to the audiences forging ahead with global expansion to be the leader of the content creation arena. CJ E&M has produced and distributed various popular contents, some of which include record-breaking hit drama Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (signed with over 100 countries), sought-after fiction drama The Legend of the Blue Sea (signed with over 100 countries) along with global formats such as hit reality show Grandpas Over Flowers(U.S. remake titled Better Late than Never (aired on NBC, 2016)), global co-development project with Endemic Shine Group, ITV Studios, Gil formats and more. CJ E&M also operates global TV channels including regional channel tvN Asia, and first & only Korean blockbuster film channel tvN movies covering Asia-Pacific region. With regional offices in Asia and the U.S., CJ E&M currently employs over 2,000 people worldwide, and is traded on KOSDAQ under the ticker 130960.
ABOUT NIPPON TV
Nippon TV is recognized as Japan’s viewer ratings champion having topped all timeslot categories for three consecutive years and garnering the largest profits in the country’s broadcasting industry. One of the biggest successes for the nation’s finest producer of all genres of programming is Dragons’ Den, a globally successful business show format that has sold into more than 30 territories including the UK, Canada, Australia, Russia, Germany, India, Italy and Nigeria. The Emmy award winning version, Shark Tank, airs in the US. Following closely is the success of Mother, a scripted format that has become a big hit in Turkey and has sold into many territories around the world. With well-established companies that deal in a broad range of businesses from animation, movies, events, to fitness clubs, Nippon TV is leveraging its coveted platform to revolutionize digital media in an ever-changing industry. Launching a channel in Southeast Asia named GEM through a joint venture with Sony Pictures Television Networks, and leading the digital content market through Hulu Japan, a subsidiary that boasts the largest SVOD subscriber base in the country, Nippon TV is steadily solidifying its presence and brand as a global media powerhouse.
