Jeremy Erlich’s auction-themed gameshow format Ready. Set. Auction. emerged as the winner at the 2014 Talpa Open Pitch, during the second day of the inaugural Realscreen London today (October 9).
Erlich’s format, which sees contestants attempting to come closest to guessing the correct value of items on the auction block, wowed the trio of assembled judges from Talpa’s creative team.
The former investment banker took to the stage with a limited edition Beatles boxed set to perform the format live for the judges, challenging them to guess the value of the set.
The pitch fought off strong competition to take the prize, edging out two projects from Charlie Clare/Casting House Ltd.: Apprentice-style competition show The Career Ladder and celebrity interview format Be My Guest; Kelly Sallaway’s pitch for a food format judged by the general public called Hungry Games; Rubén Figueirido Villen’s visual quiz show The Telly, and Christopher White/C Squared Entertainment’s gritty, Intervention-style format The Experience.
“We felt that there was a lot of opportunity there,” the judges said of Ready. Set. Auction., in remarks delivered after the pitches. “It needs work, but we feel there’s potential – there’s elements from Antiques Roadshow, and people wanting to see what things are worth. There’s real potential there.”
In winning the competition, Erlich earns a development deal worth up to £25,000 (US$40,300) from Talpa Media, to further refine the format.