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´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide is to manage the MasterChef brand in the UK and Eire following a partnership deal with producers Shine Television, it was announced today.

The three-year deal will shape and implement a multi-platform licensing programme to include live events, licensed product, magazine and partwork publishing, and online activity. It builds on the increasing popularity of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ television show, which achieved audiences of over 5 million for the final of the last main MasterChef series in February 2009. Along with its two successful spinoff series, MasterChef The Professionals and Celebrity MasterChef, a further 300 episodes are currently commissioned by the ´óÏó´«Ã½ in the UK.

Internationally, MasterChef has also recorded unprecedented ratings recently achieving an unprecedented 77% share in Australia where it airs on Network Ten. It has successful versions running in territories including France, the Middle East, Germany and Sweden, in deals brokered by ShineReveille International (Shine Group's sales and distribution arm).

Key elements of the deal include:

• Live events - ´óÏó´«Ã½ Haymarket Exhibitions' event ´óÏó´«Ã½ Good Food Show London, will be relaunched to become MasterChef Live: A ´óÏó´«Ã½ Good Food Production, from November 2009;
• ´óÏó´«Ã½ Good Food Show live events in Glasgow and Birmingham will include The MasterChef Experience, a live show within a show;
• Publication of MasterChef branded bookazines and partworks;
• A branded MasterChef website hosted within the market-leading website, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide's

Peter Phippen, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide's Managing Director of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Magazines, Children's & Licensing said: "MasterChef has become a huge hit as a TV show. With our expertise in extending successful ´óÏó´«Ã½ brands and developing them into other formats, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide is delighted to be working with Shine to give fans of MasterChef a wide range of opportunities to experience the brand beyond the TV screen."

Jamie Munro, Joint Managing Director, Shine TV said: "MasterChef is the pre-eminent cookery show of our era which has incredible potential to extend beyond the broadcast platform. Now in the UK with ´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide we have both a partner and programme of activity that will realise the many licensing, publishing and event ambitions we have for it, enabling it to truly live off-screen."  

MasterChef is based on a format created by Franc Roddam and has been produced by Shine Television since 2005. 

NOTES TO EDITORS
MasterChef is presented and judged by John Torode and Gregg Wallace. It follows members of the public as they set out to prove they have the skills and flair required to succeed as a great chef. The television show achieved average audiences of 3.7million viewers for its last series which finished in February 2009, peaking at 5.2million for the final. It will transfer from ´óÏó´«Ã½ Two to ´óÏó´«Ã½ One for the next series. 

Shine TV - Founded by Elisabeth Murdoch in early 2001 as a multi-genre independent, Shine TV has established itself as a regular supplier of quality programming to ´óÏó´«Ã½, ITV, C4, five and major multi-channels across features, factual, entertainment and drama. Led by joint Managing Directors Jamie Munro and Karen Smith amongst many successful shows it is responsible for revolutionising primetime cookery programming with MasterChef, bringing the legendary Gladiators back to UK screens and creating a contemporary vision of Camelot in the international hit Merlin.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Magazines publishes over 40 ´óÏó´«Ã½ consumer titles, including Top Gear, Good Food, Gardeners' World and Radio Times and many children's titles including In the Night Garden, CBeebies Weekly, and Doctor Who Adventures.  There are now 44 licensed editions of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Magazines' titles across 55 territories internationally.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Haymarket Exhibitions – a joint venture owned by ´óÏó´«Ã½ Magazines and Haymarket – stages the popular ´óÏó´«Ã½ Good Food Live and ´óÏó´«Ã½ Gardeners' World Live events across the UK, which attracted audiences of over a quarter of a million in 2008/9.

Sarah Williams