Sony Entertainment Television acquires rights to ‘MasterChef India’

Sony Entertainment Television has acquired the rights for the Indian adaptation of the international culinary reality format, MasterChef produced and distributed by Endemol Shine India. MasterChef is a competitive cooking reality show produced by Endemol Shine UK and Banijay and broadcast in 60 countries around the world. The format and style of the show have been reproduced around the world in various international versions.

“MasterChef has revolutionized the global foodscape, changing the way cooking is perceived while transforming lives of amateur chefs globally who have a passion for cooking. The pandemic has seen a swift rise in home chefs who embarked on culinary adventures experimenting and whipping up food recipes. Hence, now is an apt time to bring forth a platform like MasterChef India that puts the spotlight on such aspirants,” Sonal Yadav, head, programming (non-fiction), Sony Entertainment Television (SET) said in a statement.

Rishi Negi, chief executive officer, Endemol Shine India said the country has a wide demographic of talented home chefs who can impress and surprise in the kitchen. “Through MasterChef we hope to tap into their talent and equip them with the best tools and experiences to fulfil their dreams of achieving something extraordinary. The past few years have seen talented home chefs with a passion for cooking burgeoning across the spectrum and this will be a great platform for them to truly hone and test their talents by wowing our judges with their culinary creations,” Negi said in a statement.

This March, Sony Pictures Television said it is looking to introduce some international show formats, both unscripted and scripted, in India, building on the success of its recent business reality show Shark Tank India.

The titles will include game show The $100,000 Pyramid which will feature two contestants, each paired with a celebrity, who attempt to guess a series of words or phrases based on descriptions given to them by their teammates, Raid The Cage, where couples complete trivia and physical challenges to win prizes from a cage before the doors slam shut and Can’t Touch This, a physical show where if a contestant touches a prize, they win the prize.