NATPE Budapest, the leading global TV market for the CEE region taking place June 23 to 26 at the InterContinental Hotel, and CEETV, the leading professional source on television in Central and Eastern Europe, are proud to announce the three finalists for the ninth edition of PITCH & PLAY LIVE! The format pitching contest is one of the main highlights of NATPE Budapest 2025, continuing the tradition of finding the best formats from the CEE region with the biggest potential to travel internationally.

Following another thrilling vote, the 3 finalists of the competition showcasing the region’s best new original format concepts with international potential this year are: INCREDIBLE DUETS (Friends Production, UKRAINE); UPSTAGE (ETV, ESTONIA) and HERITAGE CODE (rlive, MOLDOVA). The three formats will be presented live by their creators during the PITCH & PLAY LIVE! session on Tuesday, June 24 at 16.15 CET. The jury, consisting of AVI ARMOZA, CEO Armoza Formats; BEN PACKWOOD, VP Sales CEE at All3Media International, BARBARA HÁMORI, Owner and CEO, Scripted Productions; and MALWINA KAWECKA, Head of Licenses and Rights Acquisition Division, TVP, will evaluate the presentations of the creators and the international potential of the formats and vote for the winner of the competition.

This year PITCH & PLAY LIVE's Top 3 formats were selected among 10 new original formats from Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Moldova, and Ukraine, based on three categories with a potential combined score of 75 points. The formats were evaluated by a selection committee which this year included Fredrik af Malmborg, CEO DubHub; Pascal Dalton, Shimmer Media; Taliah Shahar, Format Acquisitions Expert; Claire Macdonald, NATPE’s Executive Director, and Georgi R. Chakarov, CEO and President, TVBIZZ Group.

Following the vote, the competing formats were ranked as follows: INCREDIBLE DUETS - 55, UPSTAGE - 54, HERITAGE CODE - 53, NEVER ENDING SEASON - 52, DATE WITH TWO – 45, IDEA WORTH A MILLION & THE REUNION - both 39, I'LL BE HONEST – 38, HOT IN CRETE & THE ROADSHOW – both 35.