Pasapalabra, one of the most famous TV game shows in Spain since it first aired in 2000, will lose its most famous and beloved game, the 'Rosco', by order of the Supreme Court, because the producer, Atresmedia, even if they have the rights for the format, don't have the rights for that specific game. In short, Pasapalabra is an adaptation of the short lived British show The Alphabet Game (1996-97), whose rights are owned by ITV Studios, but the game show became famous after its Italian adaptation Passaparola, which incorporated the famous 'Rosco' game, known there as 'Ruota delle lettere'.
However, 'el Rosco', which is by far the most famous and entertaining part of the show, doesn't come from that British show, and is owned by a different company, the Dutch producer MC&F. That game, in which two contestants must respond correctly to a quick succession of questions, one for each letter of the Spanish alphabet, was created by two Italians, Reto Luigi Pianta y René Mauricio Loeb for a different game show called End Game 21x100, that was later merged with the Italian version of the show (Passaparola) in the 1990s, who then gave away the rights of the game to the Dutch company.
However, the Spanish version, which has been in two different channels since 2000 (Antena 3 and Telecinco) was based on the British version by ITV, which never had the 'Rosco' game, protected by its own intellectual property.
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The court decision forces Antena 3 to make last minute changes for the show scheduled to air tonight at 20:00 CEST. According to El País, the show will remain on air, but without the star game, it will lose most of its interest until they find a replacement... and hope that audiences accept it.
The TV channel is also forced to remove from the market and destroy all recordings of the show with the Rosco game, as well as "the removal from commercial distribution, the disabling and, if necessary, the destruction of all material elements, equipment, or instruments primarily intended for the reproduction, creation, or manufacture of any television program or audiovisual work that includes El Rosco."
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In other words, a huge blow that may deal incalculable damage to the network: it is almost every day the most watched show on TV, with an average of 1.8 million viewers and a 20.5% screenshare. The judicial victory in Spain may open the door for MC&F to pursue similar complaints in other countries in Latin America where the show (and the 'Rosco' game) are aired without rights...