Dragons' Den is a series of reality television programmes featuring entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas in order to secure investment finance from a panel of venture capitalists. The show originated in Japan as "Manē no Tora" (Tiger of Money, a pun on "Tiger of Malay", the nickname of a famous WWII general, Tomoyuki Yamashita). The format is owned by Sony Pictures Television International.
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The contestants are usually product designers or service operators who have what they consider to be a viable and potentially very profitable business idea, but who lack funding and direction. They pitch their idea to five rich entrepreneurial businesspeople, the eponymous "dragons" (or "tigers" in the original Japanese show, "sharks" in the U.S. and Israeli versions and "lions" in Finland and Romania). The contestants have, before the show, named an amount of money that they wish to get, and the rules stipulate that if they do not raise at least this amount from the dragons, they get nothing. In return, the contestant gives the dragons a percentage of the company's stock, which is the chief point of negotiation.
Once the contestant has made the presentation, the dragons probe the idea further, often revealing an embarrassing lack of preparation on the part of the contestant, or uncovering troubling facts and consequently rejecting the investment, or revealing a sound business proposition and offering to invest capital in return for equity.
Dragons' Den series have been produced in numerous different countries. Apart from in Japan (where the show debuted) the show names, structures, and styles are based upon the UK version.
In the UK, Dragons' Den is broadcast on BBC Two which has exclusive rights to the show's format from its Japanese producers. The Executive Producer is Dominic Byrne and it is hosted by former BBC economics editor Evan Davis. So far in the Den, the 'Dragons' have agreed to invest in 110 companies, with Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis agreeing investments in 29 businesses each since 2005, followed by Deborah Meaden who has invested 21 times since she joined in Series 3 in 2006, followed by Duncan Bannatyne with 17 investments since 2005, and James Caan with 14 since he joined in 2007.
The Dragons are/were:
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The BBC website also has an online Den hosted by Radio 1's Dominic Byrne and featuring two new Dragons: Shaf Rasul and Julie Meyer. Entrepreneurs can pitch for a maximum of £50,000, and as with the television version, must be offered all the money or they walk away with no investment. In contrast to the television version, however, entrepreneurs may apply by submitting a three-minutes 'raw pitch'. BBC Two have commissioned this as 30-minute programs broadcast on Wednesdays from 9:30pm until 10pm.
In Afghanistan, the show is called Fikr wa Talash.
In the Arab world, Dragons' Den was known as Dragons' Den: Al Aareen (The Den). It was broadcast on the Lebanese channel Future Television The show received contestants from various Arab countries.
The panel of Dragons for the 2007 series consisted of:
The Australian version of Dragons' Den was broadcast on the Seven Network and hosted by Andrew O'Keefe. Different from other versions, the host ran through the outline of the business with the contestant then negotiating with the Dragons for a deal. It was produced by Michael Horrock. The Australian Dragons were:
The Seven Network announced in December 2005 that the show would not be back for a second season after poor ratings.
The Canadian Dragons are/were:
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The Croatian version of Dragons' Den called Zmajevo gnijezdo was scheduled to be broadcasted in 2007 on Hrvatska Televizija and produced by Ocean Film.
Contracted Croatian Dragons were:
At least few shows were filmed but never broadcasted because of undisclosed reasons.
In the Czech Republic, the show is called Den D (The D-Day).
It first aired on 31 March 2009 on Czech TV (CT1 channel), in a very similar set up to the British version of BBC.
The show is hosted by experienced radio host Jan Pokorny, and the dragon investors are:
In Finland Dragons' Den is called Leijonan kita which actually means the jaws or the mouth of a lion when translated into English. The show started running in Finland on 27 September 2007 on MTV3 channel. The show is hosted by Anna Sorainen. The local Dragons, or Leijonat (Lions in Finnish), are:
An Irish version of the show began in 2009 on RTÉ One, the state broadcaster. It is presented by Richard Curran, Deputy Editor of The Sunday Business Post.
The Irish Dragons are/were:
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The Dragons have appeared on television in Ireland, in promotion of the series, on Tubridy Tonight, on RTÉ One. RTÉ started broadcasting show promos after Christmas as part of their winter line-up.
The first episode was broadcast on 19 February 2009.
A third season of Dragons' Den began airing on RTÉ One, on Thursday, 20 February 2011. Norah Casey was the new Dragon for the third season. Episodes at the end of the third season, for the first time on Dragons' Den in Ireland, showed the Dragons on tour visiting their past investments.
Dragon Seán Gallagher stood for President of Ireland in 2011, and very nearly succeeded, only to be pipped at the post by poet and intellectual Michael D. Higgins after a controversy erupted over a €5,000 cheque he had received in an envelope.[1][2]
A fourth season of Dragons' Den was commissioned.[3] Sean O'Sullivan replaced Seán Gallagher.[4]
Episodes of Dragons' Den are also now being shown on Dave every Wednesday at 7pm which means it is also available to Great Britain. Episodes began airing on 6 July 2011.
In Israel, Dragons' Den is entitled Hakrishim (which is Hebrew for "The Sharks"). It is produced by Gil Productions and is broadcast on Channel 10. It is hosted by Guy Zohar. In the Israeli version, there are 6 dragons who rotate their appearance weekly. The first season was broadcast during the summer and fall of 2006. The dragons in season 1 were: Ze'ev Holtzman, Israela Shtier, Aviv Tzidon, Oded Dessau, Jacky Ben-Zaken, and Nir Sharatzki. The second season began being broadcast on Channel 10 on 24 May 2007. As in the first season, the dragons rotate their appearance weekly. Aviv Tzidon and Jacky Ben-Zaken returned from the first season and were joined by the following new dragons:
Titled "マネーの虎 Manê no Tora", (Money Tigers), this original version was created by and broadcast on Nippon Television from 2001 to 2004. It was the first entertainment programme in the history of Japanese television that dealt with the concept of business investment. During its three year run, as many as 16 business executives appeared in the programme as Tigers.[5]
In the Netherlands the show was broadcast in May 2007 on Nederland 3, every Friday at 20.25 (+1 GMT). The second and last season was broadcast in May 2008 on Nederland 3, every Monday at 21.25 (+1 GMT). As in the first season, it was hosted by Jort Kelder.
The dragons were:
In New Zealand Dragons' Den is broadcast on TV One and hosted by Rawdon Christie. Initially the UK and Australian series were broadcast, but a local version was produced and screened in 2006. The series is produced by Eyeworks Touchdown. The New Zealand Series 1 Dragons are:
Production company Eyeworks Touchdown is currently soliciting applications for a second series of Dragons' Den.
Nigeria's adaptation of Dragons' Den was broadcast weekly in 2008 on the AIT Network and produced by Storm Vision.
The Nigerian Dragons were:
A second series is now being commissioned.
In Poland, the program is called "Dragons Den - How to be a millionaire" http://www.jakzostacmilionerem.biz/inwestorzy which is broadcast on the station TV4 since 2011. The biggest win in the program fell April 24, 2011 in the amount 15 000 000 PLN (5 500 000 U.S. dollars) [6]
The Polish Dragons in 2011 are:
There is a Romanian version of the format called Arena Leilor.
The Romanian Lions are:
The show started in 2007 and a new series will be on air in March 2011.
There was a Russian version of the format called Killer Whale Dragons.
It was announced in December 2009 that Saudi Arabian broadcaster STV1 will be showing the BBC version of Dragons' Den in January 2010, followed by a local production in February.[7] It has been broadcasted on 2011, and it's called " Altujar " the dragons are : Saleh Kamel, Ahmed Fitihy, Nashwa Altahir, Altaiar, Alhalafy
The British version was on air in Sweden for several years on TV8 and BBC Prime. A Swedish version called Draknästet (English: "The Dragons' Nest") was broadcast in 2009 on Sveriges Television.[8] A second season started in March 2010.
The Swedish Dragons 2010 are:
Previous Dragons 2009:
The Turkish version of Dragons' Den will be shown on BloombergHT. In 2010 the UK version is shown with Turkish subtitles.
In Ukraine, the series was called Акулы бизнеса (Business Sharks), and featured Dragons such as future presidential candidate Sergei Tigipko.
In 2008, television producer Mark Burnett signed a deal with format holder Sony to produce an American version of the series. The series on U.S. television is titled Shark Tank.[9]
The U.S. network ABC has ordered a pilot episode which will be produced by Sony Pictures TV.[10] On 9 October 2008, a casting producer announced that The Shark Tank was accepting applications for a pilot, giving entrepreneurs two weeks to submit their ideas. The pilot was filmed 6-9 January 2009 in Los Angeles.[11]
Shark Tank's second season began in March 2011; the show's third season is set to premiere January 3, 2012. [12]
The Sharks are:
Herjavec and O'Leary both appear as dragons on the Canadian version of the show, Dragons' Den.
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Mark Cuban Jeff Foxworthy |
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