Infinity TV, the leading entertainment television network, yesterday (Tuesday, September 5, 2006), announced the launch of ‘Street Smarts 2’, the second season of Middle East’s first-of-its-kind reality television show, at a press conference held at Dubai Media City. Following the overwhelming success of the inaugural season which concluded recently, another set of 16 young male and female Arab participants from the region are all set to take part in the action-packed show, which offers prize money of US$ 100,000 to the winning contestant.
Al Qudra Holding, a leading investment company in the UAE will be the official sponsors of Street Smarts 2. Al Qudra Holding is the mother company of a large group of specialized subsidiaries that operate under its umbrella in important sectors of the country’s education, tourism, industry, energy, infrastructure development, sports management and the entertainment industry.
‘Street Smarts 2’ retains the format of the first season, wherein all the contestants of the show will be split into two mixed teams and will be judged on their expertise and skills through 15 intense and intellectually stimulating assignments in business, entertainment and creativity. The assignments are given to them by the show’s host Taleen Kirresh, who will frequently advise the contestants and also be a source of panic to them. The person that successfully completes all assignments and survives the voting of the audience and the judgment of the jury panel at the end of 33 episodes will walk away with the $100,000 prize money. The 8 male and 8 female contestants live together in Dubai throughout the duration of the show with separate accommodation facilities for men and women.
Every week, the losing team will vote out one team member. The viewing audience will also participate via SMS, voting off the contestant from the losing team. A new addition to Street Smarts 2 is the three-member panel of judges who will interrogate and play a big role in the show as they will account for 50 per cent of the votes to eliminate the contestant from the losing team. The show will air every Wednesday and Friday at 10:30 pm beginning September the 8th. The episode on Wednesdays will show the manner in which the contestants dealt with their assignment, while the telecast on Fridays will be live and will feature the elimination process wherein judges, contestants and the show’s host will debate and discuss before eliminating a contestant.
“The success and popularity of this reality show have driven us to launch the second edition, which we believe will be an even bigger hit. This season promises a lot more excitement since it will be taking place during the Holy month of Ramadan, augmenting the intensity of the challenges that the contestants have to face as part of the show,” said Ihsan Ramzi Managing Director, Infinity TV. “We are excited because we judged the shows success based on the number of SMS’s that the station received, which is indicative of the total viewership that the show garnered over the course of the first season.”
Personal skills, creativity, sharp thinking, team work and the ability to build alliances as well to outsmart team mates are what the contestants require to win in this show making for great entertainment and being educational as well. The team that wins the weekly assignment will be rewarded with AED 10,000 in cash as a perk to be split between them.
Speaking at the press conference, Ziad Batal, Executive Producer of Media Group who developed and produced Street Smarts, said, “The response generated by the first season of the show has been overwhelming. The success of the show was largely due to the creativity and the intense challenges that we put the contestants through, which makes this show different from any other program on air today.”
“It was absolutely thrilling to host ‘Street Smarts’ and I am eagerly awaiting the start of the new season,” said Taleen Kirresh. “The audiences in the Middle East were glad to have a reality show that was different from the traditional entertainment that they are used to seeing. In the first season of Street Smarts we created true leaders, business people and we taught the contestants to push themselves to find their true abilities. By doing that we discovered some amazing things about them and that’s what drives my motivation. Viewers can be assured of greater excitement and new twists in Street Smarts 2, which I am honored to be an integral part of."
The contestants of Street Smarts 2, which is entirely in Arabic, represent most of the Arab world including Lebanon, Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Syria, Palestine, Yemen, Jordan, Iraq, Oman and Algeria. Over 4,500 applications were submitted from all around the Arab region and the final selections were made by exploring their personalities and testing their wits through a casting process that was carried out across the Arab world.
“From a business perspective, making an investment in a reality TV show is certain to result in excellent returns, which has been the case with Street Smarts. The unique and exciting format of this show that also involves audience participation has significantly boosted viewership. Viewers in the Middle East have definitely enjoyed watching Street Smarts and we look forward to broadcasting the second season of this show,” concluded Batal.
Infinity TV launched in Dubai in October 2004. Infinity offers all kinds of entertaining, educational and appealing programs like movies, sitcoms, documentaries, musicals, children and sport programs suiting the tastes and preferences of all audiences. Based in Dubai Media City, Dubai, UAE, Infinity TV is broadcast free to air via Nile Sat, Hotbird and Arabsat. The channel seeks to stretch beyond borders and bring viewers all around the world a rich bouquet of appealing programs and shows.
Media Group recently produced the UAE’s first feature film Tarab Fashion, which received rave reviews both within the country and across the Arab world. From concept to completion, Media Group Productions has a team of creative experts, writers and professional freelancers to handle every phase of production. Media Group is the leading producer of feature films as well as reality television projects in the region.
