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House Hunters International eyes Australian series

Long-running US property series has plans for an Aussie version.

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US property series House Hunters International is setting its sights on the Australian market with Discovery announcing its first-ever format licence deal to a third party.

Leopard USA, part of the Argonon  Group, has produced more than 1,800 episodes of the House Hunters brand for cable network HGTV. The series sees couples and families undertake an overseas move, viewing prospective properties and concluding with a house purchase.

Filming has taken place in over 167 countries and territories on six continents, including Australian-based episodes.

Producers are now looking to entice an Australian broadcaster with a local version.

“With the acquisition of legacy Scripps in 2018, Discovery Programming Sales has accelerated our efforts to bring global lifestyle formats to the international marketplace,” said Elliot Wagner, SVP, Program Sales, Discovery. “We are thrilled to be leading with one of our most beloved and well-traveled shows in House Hunters International and to be partnering with Leopard, whose expert knowledge of this global franchise will enable them to deliver a successful adaptation to our local broadcast partners.”

Argonon and Leopard USA CEO, James Burstall says: “We are delighted that Discovery has entrusted this important property to us as we evolve the brand into Australia. Leopard USA are the champions of this hit franchise. We have built an expert team over more than a decade and have bureau in Australia, London and New York dedicated to delivering it.”

11 Responses

  3. I read a blog from a guy who appeared on the show, he revealed he had already been living for three months in the apartment he “chose” before they taped his episode. And a friend of his played the part of real estate agent because they had trouble finding one who spoke English (can’t remember where this was now, Taiwan, maybe?) So it’s not all as it appears. It also explains why they don’t always choose a place that seems to suit them better. Now I watch and try to guess which place the people already live in.

      1. Well the (domestic) premise was always a bit suss. Agent only shows them three properties and they always buy one. If only buying a house was so easy!

  4. Ive seen a few Aussie episodes. Smells like a 10 acquistion to me…established format, relatively cheap to produce and they need something that slots up against The Block/House Rules (in terms of property/lifestyle). Sure it can’t be stripped but could fit them well.

  5. I regularly watch House Hunters and HH International and really enjoy it. They have highlighted Townsville and Cairns a few times that I have seen and always show them to be beautiful places to live. Great for tourism!

  6. I love this show and watch a lot of it on 9Now/9Life.
    Will this be Aussie hunters looking into properties overseas or foreign hunters looking only into Aussie properties?
    Either way, 9Life should licence a local version.

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