Tokyo Broadcasting System Television
Japanese broadcaster TBS is heading to Mipcom with the results of its global expansion plan, including new deals, strategic partnerships and fresh formats that will be unveiled in Cannes.
In 2024, Japan’s TBS positioned itself for a new chapter in its international growth, declaring the year its “first year of global business expansion.”
Last year, Katsuaki Setoguchi, executive officer for the Global Business division at TBS Holdings, told C21 that the company was accelerating its global expansion by leveraging the expertise it had built through years of producing hit programmes, while stepping up co-development and partnerships with international players.
One year on, that strategy is beginning to bear fruit, with new commissions, co-development projects, international reboots and direct format sales translating TBS’s global ambitions into tangible results.
TBS and Banijay partnership drives Ninja Warrior reboots in two territories
A clear example is Ninja Warrior, one of TBS’s most internationally successful unscripted formats. The original Japanese version will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year, and the format has now been adapted in 25 countries around the world. While established versions continue to run in markets including the US, Poland and Germany, the format is entering a new phase of international growth.
Just one year after TBS and Banijay Entertainment announced their worldwide distribution sales partnership for Ninja Warrior, a number of new developments and reboots have begun to take shape.
In Israel, Ninja Warrior Israel is set to return for its sixth season, marking the revival of a local version of the long-running format. Meanwhile, Australian Ninja Warrior is also making its return to Network 10, bringing the format back to another established English-speaking market.
Together, the two developments demonstrate how TBS and Banijay Entertainment are looking to unlock new opportunities for an established global IP, while bringing the format back to audiences in markets where it has already built a strong following.
Co-development partnerships turn into new projects
TBS has been actively pursuing co-development partnerships with leading global players, including Fremantle, CJ ENM, All3Media International and Endemol Shine Australia, developing new formats together with international partners.
That strategy is now beginning to deliver tangible results.
Special Delivery, a comedy competition format co-developed by TBS with Fremantle, won Gold in the Best Original Game Show Made in Asia category at the 2026 ContentAsia Awards. The format is now in advanced discussions for a local commission.
Furthermore, Infinite Loop, a survival money gameshow also co-developed with CJ ENM, has secured an option deal with a US production company, Boardwalk Pictures.
The two project mark an important step for TBS’s co-development strategy, demonstrating how partnerships with international producers can move projects from development into production and on to local screens.
In the US, the LA office of TBS’s local subsidiary TBS International is actively driving unscripted business led by VP and chief product officer Goshu Segawa. Multiple co-development projects are currently underway across the gameshow, reality and sports documentary genres.
Co-development partners include leading producers such as A Smith & Co Productions (American Ninja Warrior), Eureka Productions (Holey Moley) and Religion of Sports (founded by sporting legends Tom Brady and Michael Strahan, plus filmmaker Gotham Chopra) to name just a few, with several formats already pitched to major buyers and currently in deal negotiations.
But the results are not coming from partnerships alone. TBS has also been stepping up its direct international sales efforts, taking its formats directly to broadcasters and producers around the world.
Modernising a classic gameshow that has travelled to more than 28 countries for French-speaking Canada: Moment of Truth
Moment of Truth is a newly developed format derived from Happy Family Plan and Celebrity Under Pressure – legacy TBS properties that have previously travelled to more than 28 countries.
Focusing on teenage contestants participating in team-based challenges and tasks, the format has now entered the North American market. A localised French-language adaptation has begun airing on Radio-Canada in Montreal, Canada.
Action No Reaction leads TBS’s new format slate, gaining global momentum across 10 countries and Latin America
Leading TBS’s new format slate is Action No Reaction, an original comedy gameshow that merges scripted acting with prank show elements.
The premise challenges professional actors to perform serious dramatic scenes while production crews introduce unexpected physical and environmental pranks. Contestants are evaluated entirely on their ability to remain in character despite the unexpected disruptions.
The format has already gained significant international traction, with TBS securing development opportunities in 10 countries, alongside a wider regional rollout across Latin America.
Development is currently underway in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and Australia, with additional territories in discussion. Negotiations with further international licensees are also ongoing.
What began in 2024 as a strategic push to expand TBS’s global business is now beginning to translate into concrete international results – from new commissions and co-development projects to reboots of established IP and the direct sale of new formats.
The seeds have been planted. Now, they are beginning to bloom.
About TBS Overseas Business
For more than 60 years since the 1960s, TBS has been actively engaged in overseas development of all genres, including drama, variety shows, animation, and movies. In recent years, TBS has embraced the purpose ‘Inspiring Global Love for Japan through Timeless Moments’ aiming to share heart-moving, timeless moments with people around the world.
In particular, blockbuster dramas such as Vivant, Tokyo MER: Mobile Emergency Room and Hanzawa Naoki, as well as variety show formats such as Ninja Warrior and Takeshi’s Castle and other variety show formats have gained popularity in many countries, with cumulative sales of several hundred productions and tens of thousands of episodes in more than 160 countries and regions worldwide. In recent years, the company has also expanded its activities to include ‘multiple development’ such as video distribution, commercialisation through IP utilisation, publishing, theme parks and tie-ups.
General
Address: Akasaka 5-3-6
Minato-ku
106-8006
Phone: 81-3-5571-3085
E-mail: [email protected]
https://www.tbsholdings.co.jp/en/
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Over the past six months, Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS) has restructured and accelerated its global expansion. From co-developments to expanding international distribution for Japanese dramas, the company has taken bold steps into the global arena, says Katsuaki Setoguchi, executive officer of the Global Business division.
Since your trip to London six months ago, how has TBS been moving forward?
TBS has defined its global business brand purpose as ‘Inspiring Global Love for Japan through Timeless Moments’ and has strengthened its commitment to international markets. Over the past six months, our biggest acceleration has been in building a stronger global structure. Not only on the business side but also in the creative field, we are taking on challenges with the world in mind. In July, we relaunched our Global Business Division and established the Global IP Studio, which develops and produces IP for the global market. This marks the beginning of a full-scale initiative to create IP that goes beyond traditional video content, with global deployment at its core.
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