TV shows test love in age of smartphone

Cannes, France: A new wave of television formats are set to get into viewers’ heads — and their private lives — like never before. An eye-popping Italian game show that allows couples to snoop into their partner’s mobile phone and a Spanish dating programme that uses hackers to spy on potential dates were unveiled at MIPTV, the world’s top TV gathering, in Cannes. The shows are part of a new generation of programming that analysts say uses technology to make TV more intimate and compelling. “The Phone Secrets” gives participants total access to their lover’s phone messages and social media accounts. The couple that survives the ordeal with the least to hide wins. The makers of “Hacked Love”, which will air later this year in Spain, claim that six out of 10 people lie on their first date. To counter this, they employ hackers to dig into contestants’ pasts while out on a date, pointing out lies or potentially embarrassing information to the person they are dating, live on the air. The new Israeli game show “Contacts” has found an even more devilishly ingenious way of putting relationships to the test. Those taking part in the popular culture quiz must ring someone from their phone’s contacts list for an answer to a question even if they know it themselves. If their contact gets it wrong, they lose. However, analyst Virginia Mouseler of the influential The Wit other programme-makers were using technology in less sensational situations.