Finnish TV channel tackles The Apprentice format
The Finnish commercial television network MTV3 plans to air a Finnish version of the popular American television programme The Apprentice.
In the original version of the show, billionaire real estate tycoon Donald Trump chose an employee from a diminishing field of applicants, firing them one by one until the winner finally walked away with a job paying a quarter of a million dollars a year.
The final episode of the series, broadcast on the NBC television network last year, got an audience of more than 28 million viewers. The format has been sold to about 30 countries.
In the Finnish version, Jari Sarasvuo, head of the marketing company Trainers’ House, will seek a new employee for a demanding post. Sarasvuo is familiar to many Finns as a talk show host, writer, and motivational speaker.
True to form, Sarasvuo emphasises that contestants who make it onto the actual show are winners even if they lose the main prize.
"Those who join in will get the kind of contacts, training, and visibility during the production of the programme that cannot be bought with any amount of money. The ultimate winner of the game will get a job from the very top of Finnish business", Sarasvuo says. In other words, the winner will get a one-year contract for a job in Sarasvuo’s company with the English language title "Business Opportunity Director".
Applicants are expected to have a few years of business experience behind them. On the programme they will compete with each other in tackling real-life tasks.
"This is not a nihilistic humiliation show. It is a gift for whoever gets in", Sarasvuo promises.
The original American version of The Apprentice will be broadcast on MTV3 from early October. The application process for participation in the Finnish version, called Diili ("The Deal"), begins in late June.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 15.6.2004 - TODAY |
 Finnish TV channel tackles The Apprentice format |
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