MARBLEMEDIA ADAPTS INTERNATIONAL EMMY-AWARD WINNING TV SHOW WITH SPORTS CELEBRITIES TO INSPIRE NORTH AMERICA’S NEXT ALL-ROUND CHAMPION
TORONTO, CANADA (August 21, 2019) - marblemedia, an award-winning global media company, is pleased to announce the greenlight of its latest premium, unscripted kids and family series, All-Round Champion for TVO and Knowledge Network in Canada, and BYUtv in the US. The talent-packed series is set to air in early 2020.
All-Round Champion is an 11-episode, 60-minute series that features ten of North America’s most decorated young athletes who compete in the ultimate competition in sports like wakeboarding, gymnastics and skateboarding. The catch? They won’t be competing in their own sports; they’ll be competing in each other’s. Scored on skill, sportsmanship and improvement at the end of the series, one athlete will be crowned the All-Round Champion. Originally created by Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, "Best i mest" saw huge success in Norway, winning an International Emmy Kids Award for Non-Scripted Entertainment, as well as a Prix Jeunesse. marblemedia was granted format rights to create a North American version from Beta Film.
Hosted by Olympian and World Champion Hurdler, Perdita Felicien, this innovative non-elimination serialized format also features a new ‘Sports Star’ in each episode including Laura Wilkinson, known for being one of the most resilient divers in history, Alicia Sacramone Quin, the second-most decorated American gymnast in World Championship history and Darin Shapiro is the first ever to land a Double-flip on a wakeboard. Each of the 10 Sports Stars will coach and encourage the participants to overcome challenges and conquer each of their fears attributed to the sport. They accomplish this through teaching the young athletes not only techniques, but also tips based on their experiences throughout their career.
“This series is not about sports as much as it is about passion, grit and character,” says Matt Hornburg of marblemedia. “We’ve assembled the absolute highest caliber of young athletes in North America from a range of sports and paired them with the world’s top professional athletes. We are setting out to both inspire and challenge them to not only be the best at each new sport, but also be the best towards each other.”
“All-Round Champion will show how sports competition and mentorship helps build resilient, upstanding young citizens,” says Marney Malabar, Director TVOkids. “We are thrilled to bring this inspiring series to the TVOkids audience.”
“The talent, ambition and stories behind the kids and professional athletes featured in ‘All-Round Champion’ will inspire viewers of all ages to keep reaching for their dreams no matter how long the odds,” said Michael Dunn, managing director of BYUtv. “That’s what I call inspiring programming. Which is exactly what we at BYUtv want to provide for families to enjoy together.”
Producers for the series include Matt Hornburg, Mark Bishop and Steve Sloan of marblemedia, alongside Michael Dunn, Andra Johnson Duke, and Jim Bell from BYUtv, and Marney Malabar from TVO.