All New Blockbusters arrives on Challenge TV
Every night from Monday 14th May at 8pm
Award-winning broadcaster Simon Mayo hosts a new series of the cult hit quiz show Blockbusters starting nightly from Monday 14th May 8pm on Challenge TV.
The show marks Challenge TV’s first original commission since it re-launched on Freeview last year and supports Sky’s commitment to increase its investment in home grown content to £600m by 2014.
The general knowledge quiz pits two players against one in a race to complete a path across a honeycomb board of 20 lettered hexagons. The double team play vertically across the board with blue hexagons, while the single player takes the shorter vertical route with white hexagons. Each question posed by the quiz master corresponds to a letter on the board chosen by one of the players, with the person who answers a question correctly choosing the next letter. The team that wins the best of three matches goes on to play the Gold Run, where they must work their way from left to right across a board of hexagons containing various letter combinations within 60 seconds.
Challenge TV online has developed a play-along quiz game to accompany the series. With both single player and multiplayer modes, fans of Blockbusters can now compete against each other answering general knowledge questions. Once a player has won a best of three games, they will be invited to play the Gold Run for the chance to score extra bonus points.Players will be able to design their own avatar which will be present throughout the game. The Blockbusters game will be available at www.challenge.co.uk
Simon Mayo is one of Britain’s best-loved and well-known radio presenters. He joined Radio 1 in 1986 and now presents Drivetime on BBC Radio 2. He is also the co-presenter of Kermode and Mayo's Film Review on BBC Radio 5 Live. In 2008, Mayo was recognized as the ‘Radio Broadcaster of the Year’ at the 34th annual Broadcasting Press Guild Awards and the ‘Speech Broadcaster of the Year’ at the Sony Radio Academy Awards.
Blockbusters first broadcast in the UK on ITV in 1983 hosted by the late Bob Holness, where it ran for eleven years. The new series of Blockbusters has been commissioned by Antonia Hurford-Jones, and executive produced by Suzy Lamb and Phil Parsons. The series producer is Helen Tumbridge.
For further information visit: www.challenge.co.uk
Notes to editor
Press contacts
Vicky Fairclough 0207 032 0676 victoria.fairclough@bskyb.com
Lucy Shanahan 020 7861 8090 lucy.shanahan@talkbackthames.tv
Notes to Editors
About Sky
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Challenge TV
Challenge TV is the only UK TV channel of its type showing the biggest and best games shows from Britain and around the world. It offers cult shows, world famous quiz formats, innovative new game shows and superb TNA Impact Wrestling action. From original UK commissioned content to iconic classic shows from the past, there's something for everyone.
Challenge TV is available on Freeview channel 46, Sky channels 125 and 164, Virgin Media channel 139.
FremantleMedia UK
FremantleMedia UK is the UK production arm of FremantleMedia, the global production and content business of the RTL Group, Europe’s largest television and radio company. FremantleMedia UK, comprises of agroup of labels, Talkback, Retort, Boundless and Thames, which produce some of the UK’s most successful shows. The labels are headed up by some of the UK’s leading creative talent including Richard Holloway, Dan Baldwin, Jon Rolph and Patrick Holland. Across the group the labelsprovide award winning programming for all major terrestrial, digital channels and digital outlets. With an unparalleled range of programming including: The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Celebrity Juice, Take Me Out, Over The Rainbow, The Apprentice, You’re Fired, Four Rooms, Grand Designs, Great British Railway Journeys, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, The IT Crowd, QI, The Rob Brydon Show, The Sinking of the Laconia, Kidnap and Ransom and Holy Flying Circus - the Group has aired over 450 hours of programming on terrestrial TV in the past 12 months alone.
Currently On Air and in production: Thames: The X Factor, Xtra Factor, All Star Family Fortunes, Britain’s Got Talent, Britain’s Got More Talent, Blockbusters.