During the analysis, FRAPA identified similarities between the formats:
- masked celebrities perform solo;
- almost all celebrities only sing, although in the first episode one simply dances;
- contestants provide a clue to their identity with digitally altered voices;
- judges communicate with each other, guessing the identities of the participants, without fixing the choice.
- in each episode, there is a finale, during which one of the participants removes the mask, and the rest continue to compete in the competition.
«The FRAPA report also mentions similarities in design, staging and color scheme between «Masquerade» and the Russian version of The Masked Singer, which was used for comparison», – the statement says.
Fremantle, which is the distributor of the The Masked Singer format, said that almost all «striking similarities» are not elements of Mysteries in the Spotlight.
At the same time, FRAPA noted that the main difference between the formats is that in «Masquerade» there is a competition between two teams of judges, as well as some minor refinements: a digital co-host and a lip-sync battle of the jury members for the right to choose the participant who will remove the mask.
Fremantle, MBC and TRK «Ukraine» continue to challenge the showing of «Masquerade», as well as consult on sanctions that may be applied against «1+1» in Ukraine.
«All parties involved have been informed of the report, and we hope that «1+1», armed with this information, will stop broadcasting this program and return to the production of the original version of Mysteries in the Spotlight», the statement says.
Statement of the 1+1 media group in response to the statement from the TV channel «Ukraine»:
In response to the joint statement by Munhwa Broadcasting Corp (MBC), Fremantle and TRK «Ukraine», the 1+1 media group reports that as of October 30, 2020, it has not received any report or other notification from FRAPA and is not «armed with this information», as stated in the companies' statement.
FRAPA is a public organization, whose conclusions cannot be considered indisputable. However, even according to the current FRAPA rules – Infringement Guide (https://www.frapa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Infringement-Guide-on-air-v2.pdf) – if the percentage of similarities is less than 80%, this is not enough to confirm that the format is a copy. According to the text of the joint statement, the FRAPA report, which was not provided to 1+1 media, mentions 73%. In addition, the report contains inaccurate information. In particular, it is stated that in the show «Masquerade» two teams of judges compete, although there are no judges in the format at all. There are other inaccuracies that the media holding is ready to comment on upon receipt of the original report.
Therefore, in response to requests from the media, we want to comment that 1+1 media does not plan to make any changes to the show «Masquerade», as the media holding produces a different format that has nothing to do with the format «The Masked Singer».