Five takes Bebo online hit to TV

by Ben Bold, Media Week 17-Apr-08, 15:37

LONDON - Five has acquired the rights to televise social networking site Bebo’s online teen soap, Sofia’s Diary.

The show will air on Five’s digital channel currently known as Five Life, but set to rebrand as Fiver on 28 April.

The channel’s deal with Sony Pictures Television International makes it the first UK broadcaster to secure the broadcast TV rights to the hugely popular show, which premiered on Bebo’s website in mid-March and has already attracted more than five million viewers online.

Sofia’s Diary will start airing on Fiver from 28 April, with three-minute episodes being screened every weekday from 4.55pm, with a 30-minute omnibus screened every second weekend.

The deal with Bebo is the latest in a series of acquisitions by Fiver aimed at young viewers.

Five hopes that Sofia’s Diary will appeal to Fiver’s target audience of 16 to 24-year-olds. On the Bebo site, fans are encouraged to interact with the drama by helping its eponymous heroine make important decisions in her life, with the majority vote determining the outcome.