TV Formats MIPTV 2010

FOR_410_COVER

3/26/10

3:39 PM

Page 2

The State of Formats Dating and Marriage Shows BBC Worldwide’s Wayne Garvie Endemol’s Tom Toumazis www.tvformats.ws

MIPTV EDITION THE MAGAZINE FOR THE FORMAT BUSINESS

APRIL 2010

FOR_410_TALPA

3/22/10

4:41 PM

Page 1

FOR_410_TALPA

3/22/10

4:42 PM

Page 2

FOR_410_SPARKS

3/23/10

7:33 PM

Page 1

FOR_410_SPARKS

3/23/10

7:34 PM

Page 2

FOR_410_ARMOZA

3/19/10

7:58 PM

Page 1

FOR_410_ARMOZA

3/19/10

7:59 PM

Page 2

FOR_410_UPFRONT

3/25/10

9:04 PM

Page 1

9

TV FORMATS

Armoza Formats www.armozaformats.com • The Frame • The Bubble • The Ran Quadruplets • Upgrade • The Naked Truth

Billed as “the next generation of reality TV,” The Frame is an hour-long biweekly show that lives 24 hours a day on the web.The series features eight couples who reduce their living space to just one camera frame and must compete to be the last couple standing.“There is a need for new TV content that will translate smoothly and intelligently to other media platforms in order to capture the multi-screen viewing audience,” says Avi Armoza, the CEO of Armoza Formats. “The Frame, our brand-new cross-platform reality show, provides broadcasters with the ideal solution—a riveting reality show, infused with suspense and drama, that can be watched, enhanced and discussed via 24-hour online and cellular transmissions.

It’s a truly groundbreaking new show.”Adding to Armoza’s offerings are the game-show formats The Bubble and Upgrade and the drama titles The Ran Quadruplets and The Na ked Truth.

The Frame

“ There is a need for new TV content that will translate smoothly and intelligently to other media platforms in order to capture the multiscreen viewing audience.

”

—Avi Armoza

Banijay International www.banijayinternational.com • Who’s Who • The 7 Killings • Guides in Paradise • 71 Degrees North • My Parents Are Gonna Love You

Banijay Entertainment Group has recently created a new distribution division, Banijay International, incorporating Nordisk Film TV World, which it acquired last October.

This brings into the fold, from Nordisk, Who’s Who, in which two celebrity teams battle it out to try to reveal the professions of six ordinary people.There’s also My Parents Are Gonna Love You, which watches as parents react to their son or daughter bringing home a celebrity fiancé. Skewing factual is The 7 Killings, while 71 Degrees North goes the reality route.Topping off the slate is Guides in Paradise.

“We are presenting a wide range of excellent quality programming from different genres, all with great track records,” says Karoline Spodsberg, the managing director of the new outfit.“Our formats are highly adaptable and have universal appeal.”

IN THIS ISSUE The 7 Killings

A Healthy Start A good idea, executed correctly, remains the key to success in the format business 22 Hungry for Love Dating and relationship formats are doing well worldwide 30

“ With Scandinavian formats, the production budgets are quite low compared to the high production value.

”

—Karoline Spodsberg

Interviews BBC Worldwide’s Wayne Garvie Endemol’s Tom Toumazis Profile Global Agency’s growth path

38 44

46

E! Entertainment Cycle 1 133 Line Screen

fold

CMY

Everyone’s got baggage.

How much can you handle in the name of love?

When footballers’ wives get together, the real competition begins!

The search for the hottest person in paradise.

From fake modeling competitions to faux family swaps, it’s the ultimate reality TV hoax.

Born with it – or bought it?

VISIT US AT MIP STAND G3.14 Comcastintl.com

fold

© 2010 E! Entertainment Television, Inc.

Date:

File Name / Job #: E! NETWORKS 5750 Wilshire Blvd.

Description: 4C - Gatefold

Los Angeles, CA

Publication:

90036

E! Contact:

Trim [ Telephone:

] Live [ Email:

Issue Date: ] Bleed [

]

E! Entertainment Cycle 1 133 Line Screen

fold

CMY

Everyone’s got baggage.

How much can you handle in the name of love?

When footballers’ wives get together, the real competition begins!

The search for the hottest person in paradise.

From fake modeling competitions to faux family swaps, it’s the ultimate reality TV hoax.

Born with it – or bought it?

VISIT US AT MIP STAND G3.14 Comcastintl.com

fold

© 2010 E! Entertainment Television, Inc.

Date:

File Name / Job #: E! NETWORKS 5750 Wilshire Blvd.

Description: 4C - Gatefold

Los Angeles, CA

Publication:

90036

E! Contact:

Trim [ Telephone:

] Live [ Email:

Issue Date: ] Bleed [

]

FOR_410_UPFRONT

10

3/25/10

9:05 PM

Page 2

TV FORMATS

Comcast International Media Group www.comcastintl.com Perfect Catch

• Perfect Catch • Reality Hell • Instant Beauty Pageant • Baggage • WAG Wars

Ricardo Seguin Guise

Publisher Anna Carugati

Editor Mansha Daswani

Executive Editor Kristin Brzoznowski

Managing Editor Lauren M. Uda

Production and Design Director Simon Weaver

Online Director Phyllis Q. Busell

Comcast International Media Group (CIMG) has found early success with Reality Hell, having licensed the format in five territories. Jene Elzie, the VP of international sales and strategic planning at CIMG, says the format further demonstrates the notion that “viewers just cannot get enough reality. The genre has proved so powerful year-in, year-out, and the Reality Hell format has been able to capture it and turn it on its ear.”Also generating buzz for CIMG is WAG Wars, a spin-off of the popular Perfect Catch format.“The term ‘WAG’ [meaning wives and girlfriends of someone famous] was made popular some years back in the U.K., but WAG mania has now spread across borders,” notes Elzie. CIMG is also putting the spotlight on Instant Beauty Pageant, in which everyday women compete for the chance to live out their beauty-pageant dreams, and Baggage, a new dating show.

“ Our formats deliver exactly what a format should: they are clear, relatable and, most of all, universal.

”

—Jene Elzie

Art Director Tatiana Rozza

Sales and Marketing Director Kelly Quiroz

Sales and Marketing Manager Rae Matthew

FremantleMedia www.fremantlemedia.com

Business Affairs Manager Cesar Suero

Sales and Marketing Coordinator

Ricardo Seguin Guise

President Anna Carugati

Executive VP and Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani

VP of Strategic Development TV Formats © 2010 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website:

www.tvformats.ws

Take Me Out

• Push the Button • Young Professionals of the Year • Give Us a Clue • Take Me Out • Let’s Dance

Airing to strong ratings on ITV1, Push the Button is a “revitalized,supersized version of a traditional family game show,” according to Rob Clark, the president of entertainment at FremantleMedia, which is launching the series for the international market. FremantleMedia’s catalogue also includes the hit Dutch comedy game show Give Us a Clue, which features celebrity teams miming in a studio-based charades game. Young Professionals of the Year is a BBC format that celebrates young workers,following real people as they strive to be the best in their field.“It won an enthusiastic audience in the U.K. and is sure to do the same elsewhere,” says Clark.

The dating format Take Me Out has been a ratings winner in many territories.Let’s Dance was number one in its primetime slot in its first season in the U.K., leading to a secondseason order.

“ We have a fantastic variety of exciting new entertainment, game shows and factualentertainment formats joining our proven world-leading shows like Got Talent, The X Factor, Idols, The Farmer Wants a Wife and Family Feud.

”

Get daily news on the formats business by visiting www.tvformats.ws

—Rob Clark

FOR_410_ITV

3/22/10

4:43 PM

Page 1

FOR_410_UPFRONT

12

3/25/10

9:05 PM

Page 4

TV FORMATS

Globo TV International www.globotvinternational.com • Sketch It Out • Profession Reporter • The Spelling Game • The Video Game • Laugh-O-Meter

A stalwart in the novelas landscape, Globo TV International has embarked on a foray into the formats arena.The company has been building out its nonscripted-format slate,and heads to MIPTV with titles such as Profession Reporter, which it launched at NATPE.“We’ve had very good feedback so far,” says Raphael Corrêa Netto, the international sales director, of the show’s reception thus far. Sketch It Out takes real stories sent in by everyday women and transforms them into skits, performed by a well-known comedic actress.The daily quiz show The Video Game has been a strong performer in Brazil as the top-rated afternoon TV show for a record seven years.There’s also The Spelling Game and Laugh-O-Meter on offer.Corrêa Netto says of the company’s formats push,“We are not here to compete with the big nonscripted-format players.We are here to strengthen our catalogue, to have another opportunity to work with either current customers or open new possibilities.”

Profession Reporter

“ We are not here to compete with the big nonscripted-format players. We are here to strengthen our catalogue.

”

—Raphael Corrêa Netto

La Presse Télé www.lapressetele.ca A Star’s Life in Lyrics

• The Parents • A Star’s Life in Lyrics • Seduction

La Presse Télé has gained a reputation as a leader in TV creation and production in Quebec. André Provencher, the company’s president, says its Canadian location provides certain benefits. “La Presse Télé is located in Montreal, and we believe that gives us a great advantage. Because Quebec’s first language is French and it is surrounded by English territories, we have been creating our own television for decades.

By sharing a border with the U.S.A. and working closely with English Canada we are also keeping up with new trends.” He adds, “Quebec is truly a niche of creativity, and La Presse Télé is a perfect example of this.” The company will be at MIPTV launching its new prime-time entertainment show A Star’s Life in Lyrics. The Parents, which Provencher calls the “frontrunner format” when it comes to sales, is a warmhearted comedy made up of vignettes ranging from 30 seconds to three minutes.The company is also presenting Seduction.

“We are convinced that the format business will pick up. This is a time when every dollar counts and needs to be well spent.

”

—André Provencher

362

World Screen

4/10

FOR_410_BANIJAY

3/22/10

4:44 PM

Page 1

FOR_410_UPFRONT

14

3/25/10

9:06 PM

Page 6

TV FORMATS

Leopard International www.leopardfilms.com The Day the Immigrants Left

• The Day the Immigrants Left • Forces Reunited • Missing • Cash in the Celebrity Attic

Cash in the Attic continues to be a strong global seller for Leopard International, which will also be bringing to the market the spin-off Cash in the Celebrity Attic. Leopard is also unveiling two new formats for buyers: The Day the Immigrants Left and Forces Reunited.“The Day the Immigrants Left is a prime-time documentary format which has recently attracted widespread media coverage in the U.K., coinciding with its transmission on the BBC,” says Sarah Diggins, the head of sales at Leopard.

“The program explores the hotly debated issues around immigration in an innovative and engaging format by asking the question, Can the local workforce do the job of immigrants?” Forces Reunited is a feel-good, studio format, says Diggins.The format “has relevance and appeal in the current climate by telling the amazing stories of the brave men and women of the armed forces.The program stages unforgettable reunions between families and friends, celebrating their bravery.”

“ We have high hopes for The Day the Immigrants Left and Forces Reunited, which will be unveiled at MIPTV for the first time.

”

—Sarah Diggins

Media Entertainment Group www.megnetwork.com • • • • •

Miss Lingerie Model

Ghosthunting With ...

Miss Lingerie Model Camping with the In-laws Catch Me Smile.TV

In November 2009, the Scandinavian-based distributor Media Entertainment Group (MEG) announced a key expansion with the creation of MEG Formats.The new format-sales division has been expanding its catalogue in a variety of genres and heads to MIPTV with a slate that includes Ghosthunting With…. Sarah Coursey, the VP of MEG Formats, says that the show is appealing for the international market because “it hits the celebrity reality genre where it hurts:fear,bloodcurdling screams,ghosts,things that go bump in the night.” Miss Lingerie Model has a draw for both sexes, Coursey notes.“Female audiences will appreciate the strong and confident women and the new styles on display, while men watch for obvious reasons.”There’s also Camping with the In-Laws,Catch Me and Smile.TV. “Its highquality production values, matched with hilarious scripts, create the perfect solution to a comedy-slot request,” says Coursey of Smile.TV.“Be prepared to laugh out loud.”

“ As we’ve been hard at work since November creating MEG’s first format catalogue, our goal for MIPTV is to introduce it to the international marketplace.

”

—Sarah Coursey

364

World Screen

4/10

FOR_410_TOAC

3/25/10

7:32 PM

Page 1

FOR_410_UPFRONT

16

3/25/10

9:07 PM

Page 8

TV FORMATS

ohm:tv www.ohmtv.com • The Prettiest Girl in the Class • Hit Me, I’m a Celebrity • Date Your Neighbour • Six Degrees of Separation • Living with the Enemies

Providing innovative and cost-effective formats for the international market is the goal for ohm:tv.“The Prettiest Girl in the Class, from the Netherlands, and Hit Me, I’m a Celebrity, from Ireland, have already proved to be a huge success in their home countries,” explains Joris Eckelkamp, the company’s CEO and co-founder.“With DateYour Neighbour, Six Degrees of Separation and Living With the Enemies we are offering new ideas to the market as buyers have stated that there has been a lack of innovation and originality for some time now.” Date Your Neighbour brings together singles living in the same area to see if they can find their next great love. Six Degrees of Separation plays on the theory that anyone in the world can be connected to another person through a chain of no more than four people.Living with the Enemies is a reality show that puts contestants under the same roof together with someone from their past that they may not have been so friendly with.

“ We intend to maintain and improve our corporate identity as a niche player bringing fresh format ideas to the marketplace.

”

The Prettiest Girl in the Class

—Joris Eckelkamp

Sparks Network www.sparksnetwork.com • Tourist Guides • Battle of the Blades • Country Women Cooking • Ezel • How to Become a Millionaire

In Battle of the Blades,members of Canada’s male hockey élite pair up with world-famous female figure skaters for a showdown on the ice.“Battle of the Blades was a huge success for CBC in Canada, and aired in the fall of 2009, scoring an average 1.5 million viewers compared to CBC’s normal prime-time average of 713,000,” says Fredrik af Malmborg, the managing director of Sparks Network, which picked up the title from Insight Productions.“Battle of the Blades is a great prime-time event for any country with an ice-sports tradition,” he says. Sparks is also presenting Tourist Guides, a workplace reality show. Malmborg says that the show could also be “a great way to build the ratings in prime time by dominating access.The format almost tripled the average share of the broadcaster in Finland, and we are now offering a location package for back-to-back production.”

Further titles are Country Women Cooking, Ezel and the get-rich-quick reality show How to Become a Millionaire.

Battle of the Blades

“Broadcasters are starting to experiment a bit again and daring to try new ideas. This is needed, as the creativity has been rather low the last year.

”

—Fredrik af Malmborg

366

World Screen

4/10

FOR_410_LA PRESSE

3/22/10

4:49 PM

Page 1

FOR_410_UPFRONT

18

3/25/10

9:07 PM

Page 10

TV FORMATS

Strix Television www.strix.tv The Bar

• A League of Their Own • The Outlet • Harem • Fallen Angels • The Bar

Strix Television touts the tagline “Passionate Storytellers,” and the formats in its catalogue exemplify why this mantra rings true.“The formats have a good mix of engaging stories as well as great commercial possibilities,” says Mia Engström, the director of Strix International. She points to The Bar,“with its interactivity foundation for several platforms, live 24-hour delay, open arena, open casting, open participation, open subplots, etc.”Also in the mix is Fallen Angels, in which a top prize-winning chef takes on seven unemployed girls on the verge of criminality to give them a second chance in life. Harem is a dating format. The Outlet lets viewers get to know some of the people visiting Gekås Ullared, Scandinavia’s largest department store, as well as follows some key characters working in the different departments.The show’s launch in Sweden on Kanal 5 in November scored an all-time high viewing record for the channel.

Topping off the lineup is A League of Their Own.

“ The formats have a good mix of engaging stories as well as great commercial possibilities.

”

—Mia Engström

Talpa Distribution www.talpa.tv • Dating in the Dark • Sing It • Trouble with the Neighbours • I Love My Country • Know Your Nation

Entertainment tops the roster for Talpa Distribution at MIPTV, with titles such as Sing It, which gives contestants the chance to express emotions—anger, love, regret, gratitude—by singing. I Love My Country is also in the entertainment genre.The show is filled with humor, amid a touch of competitiveness, and includes facts, nostalgic TV excerpts and more. Dating in the Dark is a unique dating experience, which places participants in complete darkness while they get to know each other.“Apart from our strong studio entertainment shows and reality dating formats, we are now also well represented in the factual-entertainment genre, of which our shows Trouble with the Neighbours and Help! My Child Has a Sixth Sense are good examples,” says Maarten Meijs, the managing director of Talpa Distribution. Also in the catalogue is Know Your Nation, a lighthearted take on current affairs and social issues with entertaining need-to-know facts and unexpected results.

Know Your Nation

“Our clients value and distinguish Talpa for its creativity and its formats with a proven track record.

”

—Maarten Meijs

368

World Screen

4/10

FOR_410_LEOPARD

3/20/10

1:07 PM

Page 1

FOR_410_UPFRONT

20

3/25/10

9:08 PM

Page 12

TV FORMATS

Televisa Internacional www.televisainternacional.tv Decades

• Decades • I’m Searching For…

Among the newest formats on offer from Televisa Internacional is Decades,which is full of live-music performances, famous guests and memories from some of the most relevant music moments from the last 50 years. I’m Searching For… helps a celebrity find that special person he or she is missing in his or her life. “Besides the fact that these are strong formats, they aim at a very specific audience angle: emotive stories,” says José Luis Romero, the director of formats and new content at Televisa.“It doesn’t matter if you touch these topics from a funny side or in a more serious way, if you appeal to emotions and feelings, the audience will always follow you.That’s what makes our formats successful.” He adds,“Our main purpose is to be near our current and new clients to keep developing the business alliances that have made it possible for our formats to travel around the world and put Televisa as one of the most important companies in the media world.We really enjoy working with our clients, building strong and successful formats to achieve great results beyond our territory.”

“ If you appeal to emotions and feelings, the audience will always follow you. That’s what makes our formats successful.

”

—José Luis Romero

TOAC www.toac.tv • • • •

Snow Rescue Remember When…

The Million Game Bet for Life

Remember When...

The extreme reality series Snow Rescue is based on the story of the book Alive, in which a Uruguayan rugby team is stranded in the snow-swept Andes after a plane crash and are forced to use desperate measures to survive.The format was done in collaboration with Carlos Páez, one of the survivors who was also the focus of a 1993 feature film. TOAC will present the format to international buyers at MIPTV, along with Remember When…, a drama title. The fast-paced game-show format The Million Game watches as three contestants display their current-events and general knowledge. The viewers at home play an essential role; by sending letters or instant messages to the show they can have access to the millionaire panel, where they can win a big prize.

The series is a proven success in 19 countries, with more than $30 million given away to date. Bet for Life is billed as reality emotainment because of its emotional backstories about people facing life’s difficulties.

Snow Rescue

370

World Screen

4/10

FOR_410_GLOBO

3/19/10

8:01 PM

Page 1

.* 157

7J T J U

VT

B U

T U B OE "

FOR_410_FORMATS

22

3/23/10

8:35 PM

Page 2

TV FORMATS

Endemol’s XXS in Turkey.

A Healthy Start A good idea, executed correctly, remains the key to success in the format business.

By George Winslow Ask most format executives about the future of the industry and they will point to the market’s recent growth as the best guide to its future.

“It doesn’t seem like that long ago when no one knew what a format was,” says Remy Blumenfeld, the director of formats at ITV Studios.

In the last 15 or 20 years, however, the format industry has arguably been the fastest-growing part of the international programming business, and today big prime-time formats like Idols, Dancing with the Stars, Deal or No Deal and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? often out-rate the movies, dramas, sports and comedies that have dominated TV ratings since the beginning of television.

Just last fall,the industry’s trade association, the Format Recognition and Protection Association (FRAPA), estimated that the format business produced €9.3 billion ($12.6 billion) in revenues between 2006 and 2008 in just 14 countries, a 45-percent increase over the €6.4 billion ($8.6 billion) in revenues the industry produced in the period between 2002 and 2004.

“To me a format is just like a recipe card in cooking,” Blumenfeld notes.“Before formats there were lots of ingredients to 372

World Screen

make a successful show but not a recipe.The format is a recipe card that tells you how to prepare those ingredients and how to mix and match them to make them work so that you can take a recipe that works in one country and adapt it brilliantly to another by adjusting the seasonings and ingredients.”

And those recipes seem to be in even greater demand these days, when cash-strapped broadcasters have been slashing programming budgets.“From a FremantleMedia point of view, in 2009 and 2010 we sold a lot more entertainment series and we saw the ratings in prime time for the right shows definitely go up, often by very big margins,” says Rob Clark, the president of worldwide entertainment at FremantleMedia.

He sees no slowdown in the willingness of broadcasters to spend heavily on major formats.“If you have a big entertainment show and you produce it well and the broadcaster schedules it well, it will increase its audience.”

Yet, the very success of the format business, coupled with the recent economic traumas, poses some major challenges for the industry’s future.

“At the moment, broadcasters don’t have the money to invest in the level of content that they once did,” notes Mike Morley, the executive VP and chief creative officer for international production at Sony Pictures Television. “Not only have they been suffering from the downturn in advertising, 4/10

FOR_410_MEG

3/22/10

4:48 PM

Page 1

FOR_410_FORMATS

24

3/23/10

8:36 PM

Page 3

TV FORMATS

money means less appetite for risk. On the plus side, when you have a hit, like we do with Dancing with the Stars, people are continuing to produce it and commission it because they know it works extremely well. On the other hand, though, people don’t have the appetite they would have had to try things out.”

That creates challenges for producers launching new formats. “There is tremendous pressure on budgets and the willingness to take risks,”adds Paul Römer, the chief creative officer at Endemol.“It is harder now to sell a new format and formats that are not already a success. And if your show does make it to air and it does not score a really great rating in the first two or three episodes, it is pulled off and gone.It is becoming more and more difficult to develop a show and the next big hit.”

MORE FOR THE MONEY

Bollywood bound: Dancing with the Stars remains one of BBC Worldwide’s biggest format hits, with adaptations in numerous markets, including India as Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa on Sony Entertainment Television.

they’ve been swept off their feet by the rise of digital channels and are losing audience share.”

These economic problems were recently highlighted by the big media-buying firm Magna Global.It estimates that TV advertising in many countries will see an uptick this year—thanks to slightly improved economic conditions,the Winter Olympics and the World Cup—but it’s also predicting that TV ad spend will remain sluggish in most major territories for years to come.

So far, those problems haven’t seriously hurt the format business—at least in the short run—because cash-strapped channels see formats as a safer way to program their schedule.

“We had a little bit of slowness last year, but things have been quite frantic over the last few months, and I think others are experiencing the same thing,” says Stephanie Hartog, the executive VP of format sales at ALL3MEDIA International.“If the idea is good enough it will sell, and we’ve been blessed with some very appealing ideas from our content creators.”

Lighthearted concepts have been particularly popular.“In the last year or so there has been a return to the kind of feel-good programming and old-fashioned family shows,” says Yvonne Pilkington, the VP of international formats at NBC Universal.

“We’re seeing that people want a bit of escape.They want to see dreams come true.That is why the big talent shows like The X Factor and Idols remain so popular.”

SevenOne International is similarly seeing a demand for bigevent shows, says Jens Richter, the company’s managing director.“They are big and they’re spectacular,” he says.“You air them tonight and they’re going to be the talk of the town tomorrow.Those kinds of shows are very important for the big free-TV channels all over the world.That is one of the big advantages of free TV—you can reach big audiences at the same time all over the nation.You can create events.That makes a big difference between pay TV and free TV and online: instant great audience reach. The channels can use that by building events.”

Still, the economic downturn facing many major broadcasters “is a double-edged sword,” according to Colin Jarvis, the director of international formats at BBC Worldwide. “Less 374

World Screen

While the big money still comes from major broadcasters, their tight programming budgets are making lower-cost formats increasingly attractive, both for broadcasters and the rapidly growing cable and satellite market.

“We have free-TV channels looking for volume,” says SevenOne’s Richter. “Some are looking for shows that can create volume at reasonable costs.That is one of the reasons why Love Bites works extremely well. It’s cooking and dating, it’s a reality show, it’s a show that you can produce at a very reasonable budget level. It’s perfect for daily stripping. So you can build a brand, you can cover big volume in your grid and it’s very cost-efficient, plus you have great ratings.”

Suited for success: Canada’s CBC is among the networks that have opted for Sony’s Dragons’ Den format.

4/10

FOR_410_STRIX

3/22/10

4:47 PM

Page 1

FOR_410_FORMATS

26

3/26/10

3:58 PM

Page 6

TV FORMATS

“Cable channels worldwide are just starting to take their first steps into original programming and starting to make shows with budgets that would have been unachievable for them only three or four years ago,” observes NBC Universal’s Pilkington.

COST CONTROLS

Star seekers: Got Talent is among the powerhouse global formats in the FremantleMedia catalogue, continuing to deliver huge ratings for the likes of ITV1.

Finding ways to be flexible in the cost of producing formats—always an important issue when trying to translate big prime-time events to smaller territories—is also likely to become more important. Pilkington notes that when TMC in France commissioned its For Love or Money format, it ended up shooting it in Miami to save money.

Likewise, Endemol’s Römer notes that his company has been using central production facilities in Argentina for its formats 101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow and XXS. “101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow is a huge spectacular game show that would be unaffordable if they had to pay for the facilities,” he says.“But because we’ve built a central facility, it is affordable for individual buyers.”

Faced with risk-averse broadcasters, format producers are also increasingly investing their own money to get concepts

off the ground, a trend that is likely to become even more important in years ahead.

Römer explains that Endemol has been spending more money to commission pilots, which increases the chances that a broadcaster will pick up a show, and FremantleMedia’s Clark says that his company has used a central fund to develop shows from local production companies that could not find a home in their originating market.

The concept for Take Me Out, for example, was developed in France, but “France didn’t want it,” Clark says. “At many companies it would have died at birth because its originating territory didn’t want it, but we believed in it and, by using centrally funded money, have developed it to the point where it is now in 15 territories.”

New revenues will also have to be part of the mix. “The biggest challenge will be seeing how the business models are altered as we come out of the recession and taking advantage of those changes,” declares Sony’s Morley.

He believes producers will have to become much more active in raising money for shows and look beyond the traditional broadcast-license fee for funding.That means they will need to work more closely with advertisers on things like product placement.

“The smart producer is going to need to be equipped for a conversation to bring in extra revenue from the multiple streams that a show can create from merchandising,interactive,off-screen licensing, etc.,” he says.

GEOGRAPHIC EXPANSION

This hunt for new revenues will also extend to regions like Latin America and Asia, where the TV markets are smaller but likely to see faster growth in the next five years. Magna Global sees TV ad spend growing by 8.4 percent a year between 2010 and 2015 in the Asia Pacific and a healthy 6.5 percent in Latin America. Both regions will see TV advertising expand by more than 12 percent in 2010.

ALL3MEDIA’s Hartog notes, for example, that Saudi Arabia has recently changed the law to allow game shows, which made it possible for the company to sell its format The Cube into the territory.“I think a lot of the Middle East will start opening up for singleterritory acquisitions, which is something they haven’t done traditionally,” she says.

These territories are also likely to become an increasingly important source of new formats. Early this year, ITV Studios cut a deal with Hunan Satellite Television in China to develop and license a series of formats that will air initially in China on Hunan Television and then be exported worldwide.

“If it is popular with 58 million people who watch it in China, we think it will inspire confidence that it will work in other countries,” Blumenfeld says.

The format industry continues to look for ways to capitalize on the rapid spread of highspeed Internet connections and the growing popularity of social networking sites and other digital media.

376

World Screen

4/10

_410_OHM

3/19/10

8:02 PM

Page 1

FOR_410_FORMATS

28

3/23/10

8:37 PM

Page 10

TV FORMATS

Transformational TV: ITV Studios’ new format Popstar to Operastar wrapped its first season in the U.K. earlier this year.

“I’m convinced that the next wave of television shows will be a convergence of television and the Internet,” states Endemol’s Römer.“It is a major topic of discussion at the moment.”

As producers face tighter budgets, revenues from digital media could play a larger role in financing big-budget primetime events, Römer adds.

Some distributors are also eyeing 3-D or stereoscopic television. Sony, for example, has joined with Discovery Communications and IMAX to launch an as-yet-unnamed 3-D channel in 2011 in the U.S. Some satellite providers, notably BSkyB in the U.K. and DIRECTV in the U.S., are also planning to roll out 3-D channels this year.

“3-D is a great leap forward because it has the potential to make TV an occasion again and to bring things to life and engage viewers in a way that hasn’t happened in decades,” notes Sony’s Morley, who adds that Sony is already looking to develop 3-D formats.

erate new ideas is also likely to remain extremely important.

“Size does matter,” says Clark.“A format idea can come from anywhere, but you have to have the capacity to launch it.”As a result, a number of companies have been following the lead of FremantleMedia and Endemol in setting up a global network of production companies.

ProSiebenSat.1 Media, for example, recently set up Red Arrow Entertainment Group as a new content division that will acquire and launch production companies and seek out development partnerships. “We want to create new properties with these production companies,” says Richter at SevenOne, which is part of the new Red Arrow group.“Within Red Arrow we also do have development deals, like the ones with Phil Gurin, the creator of The Singing Bee, and with Dick de Rijk, who is the inventor of Deal or No Deal. Dick has a great image in the international market, and with him we are developing new show ideas in the fields of game shows and reality TV.” “When we started out in the format business, over ten years ago, we were effectively a licensing business, going to market and getting the best format fee we could,” says Jarvis of the BBC, which has expanded its local production activities into nine territories in recent years.“But [over time] you plateau out because there is a limit to what you can get from just format fees. From a strategic point of view, you need not only to own the shows to license them.You also need to be able to produce them and have some ownership of the ancillary rights.”

THE TECH FACTOR

For the moment, however, the widespread discussion of how technology might transform the format business has not translated into a breakout hit.While format producers have created a number of compelling web and mobile applications, most admit that the long-predicted promise of digital media has yet to fundamentally transform the business.

“Technology is important but not that important in the great scheme of things,” says FremantleMedia’s Clark.“If you are talking about entertainment formats [like Idols], you need to have a very clear multiplatform strategy. But it is still a marginal part of the business.What drives a format is still the broadcast-TV platform.”

Some of the biggest upcoming trends, in fact, may be the same ones that have shaped the industry over the last decade.

For starters, having a hit in one of the major territories is likely to remain an extremely important factor in a format’s initial launch.While formats are increasingly percolating into global markets from a wide range of countries, FremantleMedia’s Clark estimates that “about 32 percent of all formats come from the U.K., the Netherlands and the U.S. “A format idea can start from somewhere else but it has jet boosters on once it has a U.S. or a U.K. broadcast,” Clark says. “Likewise, if it fails miserably in those territories then you are looking at the death of your format.”

Distribution clout and having an extensive network of local production companies or allied channels that can gen378

World Screen

Man of the people: ALL3MEDIA’s Undercover Boss premiered to huge numbers in the U.S. on CBS following the Super Bowl.

4/10

OFR_410_TELEVISA

3/24/10

6:16 PM

Page 1

FOR_0410_DATING alt

30

3/24/10

6:10 PM

Page 2

TV FORMATS

By Kristin Brzoznowski Finding love is hard enough—imagine doing so under the glare of the spotlight.The end result is a mix of pure-hearted emotion and mild embarrassment played out entertainingly on the TV screen. This has been the driving force behind many dating and marriage formats, which have been gaining popularity worldwide by putting an innovative spin on an age-old concept.

Some dating formats, such as FremantleMedia’s The Farmer Wants a Wife, have a feel-good story at their core, with contestants who are truly looking to find a soul mate. Rob Clark, the president of worldwide entertainment at FremantleMedia, says the format is one of his favorites in the company’s catalogue because it tells a story rooted in the “real reality” of someone genuinely searching for a partner.“A lot of dating shows are not about a love story,” he says.“They’re about fun and entertainment, and that’s fine if that’s what they want to be. The Farmer Wants a Wife doesn’t set out to be that. It sets out to be a quite emotional, romantic, interesting, warm, friendly experience, and at the end we do normally find a

partner for the farmer.The whole nation sits there and sobs their eyes out. It’s a great show!”

FremantleMedia has sold the format in 19 territories, and Clark expects this number to continue to grow. “In some places now we’re on season five or season six.There are no signs that it’s letting up either, it’s a fixture.” Indeed, The Farmer Wants a Wife is the number one show in its time period in ten territories, including Australia, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

True love is also the foundation for one of Talpa Distribution’s most successful international formats, Dating in the Dark.While the series may revolve around dating and finding a mate, the contestants are thrown a curve ball: absolute darkness. Maarten Meijs, the managing director of Talpa Distribution, explains, “The format is considered to be a fresh take on the dating game. Story lines evolve around people who are seriously looking for real love and a relationship,

Hungry for We all want to be loved, which is why formats that deal with relationships are finding success around the world.

SevenOne International’s Love Bites.

380

World Screen

4/10

FOR_410_BANIJAY 71 NORTH

3/22/10

4:45 PM

Page 1

FOR_0410_DATING alt

32

3/24/10

6:11 PM

Page 3

TV FORMATS

Subtle seduction: ohm:tv’s Date Your Neighbour watches as singles look for love with other members in their community.

but who do all their dating in a dark room, preventing them from actually seeing the person they are on a date with.”

Since its launch last year, the show has been picked up in more than 20 countries. Among other territories, the series is currently on air in the U.K., the Netherlands, a host of Scandinavian countries and in Latin America. In the U.S., Dating in the Dark was recently commissioned for a second season on ABC.“We are continuing to build the brand’s presence all over the world,” Meijs adds.

close to home.This is the premise of ohm:tv’s Date Your Neighbour.The half-hour series plays on the reality of countless singles living alone in high-rise buildings and residential areas in every city: perhaps their next great love is just a doorstep away.

On the other end of the dating spectrum, there are a host of formats in which finding love is far from the actual focus.One example is FremantleMedia’s Take Me Out.“The show does not set out, in any way, shape or form,to find romance for somebody,” says Clark.“If you come on Take Me Out,you’re not looking for a husband or a wife.You’re probably looking for a date or just to have a good time. It’s more about entertainment.”

Armoza Formats also features a number of titles in its catalogue that have a more playful, entertainmentbased approach to dating. Some of the shows, like Buzz Off and Foreplay, even incorporate gameshow-style elements.

“Buzz Off ’s 21st-century twist involves the use of electric buzzer technology,” explains Avi Armoza, the CEO of Armoza Formats.“Each of the 20 bachelors must wear a buzzer on his arm; he’ll be at the mercy of the dater, who can give him an electric jolt if she wants to move on to the next [guy]. It’s basically a 21st-century single’s dream—blind dates condensed to speed dating with the ability to tell the most boring guys to ‘buzz off’ in a hilarious and effective manner!”

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Other formats, like Armoza’s Approved for Love, bring families and friends into the selection process. “We’ve had a lot of success with Approved for Love in territories in which family is a cultural keystone,” says Armoza. “The format allows families to take over the dating process of a single person.

Cultures in which the families are very involved in the dating process, such as in the Mediterranean and Asian territories, find the show very appealing.”

Global Agency has also found this type of format to be quite successful, according to Izzet Pinto, the company’s CEO.“Our

RECIPE FOR LOVE

SevenOne International’s Love Bites also features a twist on traditional dating and still keeps with the trend towards feelgood programming. The show presents four single men, armed with only their cooking talents and charm, as they attempt to seduce one woman with a three-course meal.

“Love Bites is the perfect combination of dating and dining,” says Jens Richter, SevenOne’s managing director.

“The old stereotype of ‘women cook, men eat’ works great for Love Bites, especially when such a format travels to countries with a more macho attitude towards cooking. It’s just hilarious to watch the Greek version, where women usually cook for the family and men now have to impress the girl with their cooking skills.”

He adds,“The format also plays very well with [looking at] men/women flirting strategies: whereas girls tend to start catfights when fighting for a man, the men rather try to leave a mark and outdo their competitors.”

Rather than competing for affection, sometimes Eligible bachelors: FremantleMedia’s The Farmer Wants a Wife first launched in the U.K. and has now love is quite simply found aired in 19 territories, including Australia on Nine Network.

382

World Screen

4/10

FOR_410_MEDIASET

3/22/10

4:46 PM

Page 1

FOR_0410_DATING alt

34

3/24/10

6:11 PM

Page 6

TV FORMATS

In Armoza’s Extreme Wedding Album, one couple is tasked on their special day to perform a variety of challenges.For each challenge they complete, a part of their wedding will be funded.

There’s also a competition premise in Televisa Internacional’s Dancing for the Wedding of My Dreams, where ten couples battle it out to win an unforgettable wedding. “This format was conceived just a couple of years ago,” says José Luis Romero, Televisa’s director of formats and new content. “Since the beginning, we have tried to involve all kind of media resources to enhance the content.To give an example, the web portals of the format give you a lot of information about the couples, fan polls, blogs and many other tools related to the current media.At the end, we try to use all [possible] resources to give the audience a unique entertainment experience.”

CULTURE CLASH

Picture perfect: Armoza Formats’ Extreme Wedding Album combines competition challenges with the marriage genre.

best-selling wedding format is The Perfect Bride,” he says.“The show was first broadcast in Turkey in 2004, and broke all previous ratings records by reaching a 71-percent share. It’s our pride.”

The series has been sold in 20 territories, including Italy, the Middle East, Korea and India.“The Perfect Bride focuses on the relationship of brides and their future mothers-in-law.

There are jokes about mothers-in-law in every country, in all societies.We witness this live on TV.” Another Global Agency format, My Wedding Witness Is My Ex!, features former partners who are brought in to live alongside couples on their path to marriage. Pinto says that this outof-the-ordinary scenario sets the stage for plenty of drama, which lures in audiences and generates buzz.“All these formats are so edgy that, the minute [broadcasters] air these shows, they would receive incredible publicity. In today’s market, it’s all about creating buzz.The more people talk about your show, the more advertising revenue you receive.”

BATTLE OF THE BRIDES

A white wedding: The Perfect Bride from Global Agency broke ratings records in Turkey with its launch in 2004.

There’s also a crop of wedding formats that cross over into the competition arena, like ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s Four Weddings.The show, originally commissioned by LIVING in the U.K., features four competitive brides and four extremely different nuptials.While one contestant is getting married, the other three guest brides cast judgment and secretly score the special day.The bride with the highest score at the end of each episode wins the ultimate prize, a five-star dream honeymoon.

384

World Screen

A rather large hurdle in dealing with dating and marriage formats is taking into consideration cultural and religious differences around the world.These elements add an extra level of difficulty to the adaptation process.

“While love may be universal, dating and weddings certainly are not,” says Armoza.“Our show Till Our Parents Do Us Part is based on the premise that there are engaged couples whose parents have not yet met and that the reason for that is that the parents come from completely different worlds— religions, political views, socioeconomic status, etc. In homogenous societies, it would be very difficult to find these couples. In countries that engage in very formal dating processes, in which the parents of an engaged couple would have to meet before an engagement, the format would work, but would have to be adapted.”

There are some formats in the genre that even have concepts too salacious to be translated.“Some of our titles can’t enter all the markets,” says Global Agency’s Pinto, pointing to the controversial new series Rent a Mama, in which couples vie for a free surrogacy service, while potential surrotate mothers compete for a cash prize.

For Karoline Spodsberg, the managing director of Banijay International, differences in religion and culture haven’t posed much of a problem.“We actually haven’t found that to be an issue. Love, relationships and their problems are very similar no matter what country you come from.”

Other distributors, like Televisa, view these challenges as a positive opportunity. “Dealing with traditions and cultural issues gives us the chance to be flexible with our formats,” says Romero.“We keep learning with every twist and change that we [make] in an effort to achieve the best local adaptation for each country.We believe in format evolution, and this evolution comes from experience, not only domestic, but international.”

4/10

FOR_410_MEDIA LINK

3/26/10

12:44 PM

Page 1

FOR_0410_DATING alt

36

3/24/10

6:12 PM

Page 10

TV FORMATS

I now pronounce you: Couples head to the dance floor to win a dream wedding in Televisa’s Dancing for the Wedding of My Dreams.

Talpa’s Meijs shares this sentiment. “It is challenging, but that is also the fun part of international distribution.Within Talpa we have a team of professional creatives and producers who are aware of the need to respect and adapt to cultural differences worldwide. Our vision is to create formats suitable for international distribution. For the local production, we strongly believe in using the local knowledge of the relevant culture. We partner together with our clients to see what adjustments are needed to guarantee a good match with their specific TV audience.”

MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

care.You can’t just put it anywhere in your schedule; you need to be quite careful where you put a dating show. If it’s scheduled right, then the target audience will come to that.”

Aside from their ability to hone in on a specific audience segment, dating and marriage formats are attractive to broadcasters because they are relatively inexpensive options.“You get a lot of bang for the buck,” says Banijay’s Spodsberg.“Dating shows, especially ones in a studio, are pretty cheap to produce and still create strong emotions in a tense and exciting atmosphere.”

Since these shows are often stripped, they are produced in high volume so broadcasters can fill an extended number of slots.“With the daily shows, they reduce the cost of total production budget per episode,” says Global Agency’s Pinto.“It becomes like an unscripted telenovela and the viewers can’t miss a single episode.”

Indeed, shows in the dating and marriage genre have gained a reputation for keeping up loyal viewership. Many credit the genuine, emotional stories being told as the reason audiences continue to tune in episode after episode.

“Viewers identify with the real-life emotions that the participants of the shows have to deal with,” says Televisa’s Romero.“The audience will always be willing to get involved with other people’s feelings.”

Love is unquestionably a universal emotion, making the appeal of these formats global in scope.“Dating shows have been and always will be extremely popular,” Spodsberg says.

“Love is something everybody can relate to. No matter if you are single or in a relationship, you know the feelings going through the minds of the contestants on a dating show, and you want them to succeed and find the one true love…or fail if they aren’t your cup of tea.” She adds,“These shows bring strong positive emotions, which in the end will create very watchable and entertaining feel-good content.”

Dating and marriage shows are actually quite adept at hitting the target with specific audience segments. In particular, Clark at FremantleMedia has noticed that entertainment-style shows have a pull with the younger demographic.“Very few older people will watch Take Me Out,” he notes.“The young target audience will sit there and watch it in millions.That’s the interesting thing about Take Me Out: from an advertiser’s point of view, it’s almost a pure market. It has an ability, because of its fun nature and the lack of seriousness, to bring home vast numbers of young people.”

Additionally, Banijay’s Spodsberg points out, dating and marriage shows are very appealing to the female segment, “which in many territories is more than 60 percent of the viewers,” she says.

However, it’s the juggling act between audience targets and scheduling that can make or break the show’s success. FremantleMedia’s Clark notes, “There’s a general belief that dating and marriage is the kiss of death for some channels, and I don’t believe that’s true. I believe that on every channel, if it’s scheduled correctly and targeted correctly, a good dating Goin’ to the chapel: ITV Studios’ Four Weddings, originally commissioned in the format can work. It has to be handled with U.K. by LIVING, follows four competing brides and their nuptials.

386

World Screen

4/10

FOR_410_GLOBAL AGENCY MAMA

3/25/10

11:06 AM

Page 1

FOR_0410_garvie

38

3/25/10

8:57 PM

Page 2

TV FORMATS

As managing director of content and production at BBC Worldwide, Wayne Garvie is responsible for securing the best possible programming, whether by investing in independent production companies or overseeing BBC Worldwide’s production activity.

The company has wholly owned studios in New York, Paris and Mumbai; joint-venture production outfits in Sydney, Toronto and Berlin; and local partnerships in Russia, Brazil and Argentina. All this production prowess is dedicated to finding good ideas for shows and adapting them properly to the tastes of local markets.

It’s been licensed to more than 30 countries and we’ve recently done deals with Albania and Greece. And the thing about Dancing, it’s not a cheap show to do. This is one show that if you are going to do it you’ve got to do it properly, and it will work for you.You really have to have the highest production standards. It shines in any network’s portfolio of programs because it’s live and it’s got the highest production standards.

TV FORMATS: I’m hearing that there are two main types of

By Anna Carugati

TV FORMATS: What has given the Dancing with the Stars for-

mat its longevity and such success?

GARVIE: First of all, it’s clearly a formula that works: it’s a simple format that is easily understood. Second, it’s a feelgood show. It was the first show that said,You know what?

We’ve forgotten how much people really like to dance. I think everyone loves to dance!

It’s a show in which people are striving to be better at what they do, which is very important.Then of course it’s got the element of reality—the backstage stories, the celebrity part of it—mixed with traditional entertainment.That’s why it works.

Finding the Right Fit

BBC Worldwide’s Wayne Garvie

formats that are doing well right now: either prime-time eventTV productions that will yield a large audience, or smaller niche shows that can be placed anywhere in the schedule.

GARVIE: I think you are right. First of all, every broadcaster wants that must-see live show, which Dancing clearly is.This is not a show that you are going to record to watch later on your TiVo. This is a show that you have to watch tonight because tomorrow you are going to talk about it with your friends.That carries a higher premium for advertisers.

The second thing broadcasters want is good content in the rest of the schedule at a lower price. This isn’t one of our shows, but Come Dine with Me, which is a British format that has worked very well in Britain and around the world, is a perfect example. It’s a show that has a very good format, it’s very original and it can be executed at a lower price.The one we’ve got in our portfolio is What Not to Wear; it’s on in the U.S., Russia and Italy.These are what we in Britain would call factual-entertainment pieces that can be made in volume and at a lower cost.

There is a third format and it’s a classic entertainment format: quizzes and game shows, which are always there and are always produced in volume.

And a fourth kind is scripted formats.We are finding now that there is a big appetite around the world for scripted formats, and we’ve seen this with telenovelas.We’re finding a lot of interest in our scripted shows, of which the best example is The Office. It is in production in Israel, France, Canada, Chile, Russia and of course the U.S. version with Steve Carell, which is a fantastic piece of television.

TV FORMATS: What is the key to tailoring a format to dif-

ferent territories? Is Dancing easier to tailor because it is so straightforward and you know exactly what it is than perhaps a different format?

GARVIE: Doing this job for the last three years, I have come up with a very simple motto, which is, in Britain we have the very best television in the world, and in Israel they have the very best television in the world, and in Poland they have the best television in the world. And you know what? We are all right. Every country believes their television is the best in the world. And if you are going to be successful in the international formats business you have to understand the nuances, and often it’s just very subtle nuances of how you can take a format and make it work in a different territory.

If you look at Dancing, there is not really much difference between the U.S. version, the U.K. version, the Polish version and the Australian version. They are all just slightly nuanced.The biggest difference is probably India because music and dance in India are very different from the ballroom dancing that you see in other countries.

388

World Screen

4/10

FOR_410_GLOBAL AGENCY WITNESS

3/25/10

11:07 AM

Page 1

FOR_0410_garvie

40

3/25/10

8:57 PM

Page 4

TV FORMATS

I think it is quite interesting that some formats work in some territories and others don’t work. We have a U.K. show called Baby Borrowers, which has played in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and India. It started in the U.K. when the company Love Productions was thinking about doing an interesting television take on teenage pregnancy.

Since teenage pregnancy isn’t an issue in India, our team in India adapted the format to the cultural sensibilities and tastes of the Indian market.They used celebrity couples who are either married or engaged but without children, instead of teenage couples, and it worked really well. I think it was the number-two-rated show in its time slot and got audiences of around 49 million people.

If you have an idea for a show you have to be aware of the nuances. And one of the reasons we like to have production outfits in different territories is that they are specialists in their market. If you give a format to our Indian production team, they’ll look at it, and they’ll say,This doesn’t work, but if we did this to it, we think it would.

Battle of the bulge: Fat Family Diet is one of the new format titles from BBC Worldwide.

TV FORMATS: This leads to my next question: your production companies in various territories.Why was it important to have one in Germany?

GARVIE: We had been looking at Germany for a couple of years, and we talked to various people.We couldn’t find the right sort of fit.When you set up a company, you have to find the right people who share your values and your vision and we couldn’t find the right person, although there was someone I really liked, a guy called Stefan Oelze who had set up Granada’s business in Germany. But Stefan then left Granada and went to work for ALL3MEDIA, and I was thinking, Damn, I wish I had Stefan! And then we were approached by ALL3MEDIA, who said, “Look, Stefan likes you guys, you like Stefan, we’ve got a company

390

World Screen

in Germany, what if we made this a joint venture?”And we thought that was really exciting. We like to partner with other people; that’s something we think we are quite good at and we wanted to work with Stefan, so it was a brilliant moment for us. Together with ALL3MEDIA we formed Tower Productions, one of the largest production companies in Germany and it’s run by Germans who understand the market.

TV FORMATS: Are you looking to expand in other territories as well?

GARVIE: We’ve got a number of companies and the next stage is making sure that they survive and become the leading players in their individual markets. So now we are just looking for the right opportunities. Many companies have already been bought and sold internationally, particularly in the more developed European markets. But if the right thing came along with the right people and we thought the market was a priority for us, yes, we would be interested.

TV FORMATS: What formats will you be highlighting at MIPTV? GARVIE: We’ve got a lot of shows from Love Productions.

We just sold Filthy Rich & Homeless in the Netherlands.

Famous, Rich & Homeless is in production in Spain.These are shows that take well-known people and make them see the realities of life on the breadline, in a way that is educational and entertaining.

The Week the Women Win is a format that has played in various places around Europe and Canada and we’ve done a U.S. version as well.We’re looking at some of our scripted formats and deciding if now is the time to give them an extra push, as we have with The Office. We’ve got a show called Tonight’s the Night, which is getting a lot of interest internationally.

4/10

FOR_410_GLOBAL AGENCY

3/25/10

11:08 AM

Page 1

FOR_410_GLOBAL AGENCY SPREAD

3/25/10

11:10 AM

Page 1

FOR_410_GLOBAL AGENCY SPREAD

3/25/10

11:11 AM

Page 2

FOR_0410_TOUMAZIS

44

3/26/10

1:39 PM

Page 2

TV FORMATS

By Anna Carugati

Home to such international hits as Big Brother and Deal or No Deal, Endemol consists of a global network of 80 companies in 26 countries and has a growing library of over 2,000 formats. The company’s strategy of setting up production hubs with one main set from which numerous local productions are shot has been extremely successful, yielding, for instance, 23 versions of the hit Wipeout. Tom Toumazis, the company’s chief commercial officer, highlights new shows, more hubs and new business opportunities.

These production hubs allow us to invest heavily in the show’s infrastructure and deliver high-quality programming that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to replicate country by country.We’ve proven that with Wipeout, and we are now bringing two other shows to the market. One is 101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow, which was co-developed by Endemol USA and U.K., and we’re also presenting XXS at MIPTV, which is an Endemol Argentina property.

TV FORMATS: Tell us about some of the big formats Endemol is working on.

TOUMAZIS: One of the things we think is giving us a competitive advantage is the production-hub approach and the work we’ve done in Buenos Aires with Endemol Argentina to produce a number of very exciting shows.We did that first with Wipeout, where we’ve made 23 versions from the same set. Most recently, Wipeout launched in Russia on Channel 1, and the original broadcast delivered a 25 share and a 16 rating.

TV FORMATS: The production model in Argentina is unique.

TOUMAZIS: It is the kind of approach that creates strong tele-

Tailor-Made Hits

Endemol’s Tom Toumazis

vision at more affordable prices around the world.We can put more on the screen than we would be able to if we built the same set in each country,and many broadcasters just wouldn’t be able to do it.We put significant capital investment into these two shows because they are huge sets. I can tell you that for 101 Ways we constructed a building that allows us to shoot the game show on three different floors, and the top floor at the highest point is 75 feet.We are producing 101 Ways for the BBC, which has picked up eight episodes, and we already have a lot of interest from countries around the world.The other show is XXS. It’s a family game show where dads are pitted against dads, mums against mums and kids against kids. It’s predicated on taking a traditional family environment like a living room or a kitchen where everything is around 100 times bigger than the contestants.

Three families vie for cash prizes by competing against each other.Therefore you create this great experience for families to watch.We’ve already shot the Turkish version and we have Brazil, Chile,Turkey and Portugal signed up as well.

TV FORMATS: What challenges and opportunities do you

see in the next 12 to 24 months?

TOUMAZIS: We’re putting a lot of effort and energy into

game shows because we have seen a lot of demand for access prime-time game shows.

We’re also excited about what we’ve achieved at Endemol Sport. It’s the fastest-growing sports media company in Europe.

We have relationships with the International Rugby Board,Manchester City, with Eredivisie Live, our Dutch football channel, Ajax, Inter Milan, Goodwood and Superleague Formula.We’re bringing a number of formats to the market, including Football’s Next Star, which aired on Sky 1 and saw José Mourinho award the winning boy with a one-year contract with Inter Milan.

I would also point out our continued commitment to original digital productions. A great example is Endemol USA’s Married on MySpace, which is returning for its second season.

This is a show that was launched last year and proved to be incredibly successful, with 1 million votes cast online. It received 15 million views and it’s the most-watched-ever series on MySpace. One lucky couple was selected to be the MySpace Wedding Couple, and everything from the cake to the dress, honeymoon, venue, car, even the rings, were selected by the MySpace community.The winning couple in season one, Elle and Tito, were such a big hit on MySpace they now have a show on the Latino network Sí TV in America. So you’ve got an original digital production, whose characters have now migrated to the cable world.

Overall, I’d say our portfolio for this MIPTV is our most diverse ever, especially in view of our increased output in areas such as drama and sport.We’re looking forward to a busy week in Cannes.

394

World Screen

4/10

FOR_410_GLOBAL AGENCY THANKS

3/25/10

11:12 AM

Page 1

FOR_0410_GLOBAL_AGY

46

3/25/10

9:00 PM

Page 2

TV FORMATS

Rent a Mama

Global Agency’s crop of controversial formats has brought the company a flurry of attention, leaving it ripe for expansion.

Bringing

The Buzz

By Kristin Brzoznowski Fulfilling its mantra of “Formats that create buzz,” Global Agency has brought forth a number of contentious projects intended to get the international market chattering.“We represent probably the most controversial formats in the TV industry,” asserts Izzet Pinto, the CEO of the Turkish outfit.

“In order to stand out, you have to be different.”

Global Agency received a lot of attention at MIPCOM with its Choosing My Religion format.“That show generated an enormous buzz very quickly indeed, and was promptly snapped up in several major territories,” notes Andrew Sime, the head of acquisitions at Global Agency.“We’re expecting it to be ready to launch in the near future, and that’s something that is very important to us: it’s easy to come up with a controversial format, but it takes a lot of hard work to get a show on the air.”

From the same creator as Choosing My Religion comes yet another edgy format, Rent a Mama.The show features five couples who are searching for surrogate mothers and get to live under the same roof as 12 potential candidates. Over the course of 13 weeks, the couples battle it out to win a free surrogacy service, while the chosen surrogacy candidate stands to win 250,000 euros.

“Surrogacy is a big issue around the world right now, so as well as being a hugely entertaining format, Rent a Mama is also a timely look at a fascinating and increasingly relevant subject,” Sime adds.

Further titles in Global Agency’s format portfolio include The Perfect Bride, My Wedding Witness is My Ex!, Super Talented and The Big Challenge.

396

World Screen

Pinto notes that the company has also been building out its catalogue.“We recently opened two new divisions in our company focusing on the sale of telenovelas and movies.When we first stepped into the entertainment business three and a half years ago at MIPCOM, we just had one format.We were not even sure if we would be able to attend a second market. So far we have attended 13 markets.We’ll be here for good!”

Today, Global Agency has 18 titles to offer, eight of which are formats, three are telenovelas and seven are movies.“Formats distribution is our main business,” says Pinto,“but we are planning to grow in the movie industry as well.We acquired the rights to the multi-award-winning movie Love in a Different Language. It’s a compelling love story about a deaf mute.We are hoping to release it in 40 territories and also license the TV rights during MIPTV.” He adds,“We’ll be attending the Cannes Film Festival as a buyer for the first time.”

Telenovelas are another area where Global Agency is making fast progress.“Last year we started representing 1,001 Nights, a telenovela that had been making a big splash in its native Turkey,” says Sime.“We recognized its quality, and were soon able to sell it into neighboring Bulgaria,where its massive popularity—audience shares frequently topped 50 percent—ensured that it quickly spread throughout Central and Eastern Europe,and in the process sparked a trend in the region for Turkish telenovelas.The show has now been sold throughout Central and Eastern Europe, as well as into other key territories such as the Middle East.”

Sime continues,“We’re currently building on this success, and have spent a lot of time looking for equally well-made telenovelas and dramas that we think deserve a wider audience. It’s a difficult process, but one we think will reap big dividends, and we’re hoping to be able to announce some exciting new partnerships in this genre at MIPTV.” Global Agency also recently picked up the format rights to the telenovela Forbidden Love.“It’s probably one of the best telenovelas I have ever watched,” says Pinto. “Millions of viewers stay at home each Thursday evening in order to not miss a single episode.We have confidence in this project and are passionate about turning it into a global franchise.”

Though its eye is toward expansion, Global Agency is quite selective about what it adds to its slate.“When we decide to represent a new project, we make sure that it fits every region,” says Pinto.“We are not interested in selling our titles to only neighboring countries.When we first set up the company, our goal was to be a global company, and that’s why we picked the name Global Agency.”

Pinto expects brisk business with international buyers at MIPTV because, he says,“Everybody is looking for unique projects. People are tired of walking around the Palais and watching the trailers of simple formats.When we pitch our projects to clients, we see surprise or laughter on their faces.”

4/10

FOR_410_GLOBAL AGENCY BLUE

3/25/10

11:13 AM

Page 1

FOR_410_FREMANTLEMEDIA

3/23/10

7:35 PM

Page 1