TV Formats MIPCOM/OCTOBER 2022

State of the Industry / Fremantle’s Rob Clark

Ricardo Seguin Guise

Publisher

Anna Carugati

Group Editorial Director

Mansha Daswani Editor

Kristin Brzoznowski

Executive Editor

Jamie Stalcup

Associate Editor

David Diehl

Production & Design Director

Simon Weaver Online Director Dana Mattison Sales & Marketing Director

Genovick Acevedo Sales & Marketing Coordinator

Andrea Moreno Business Affairs Manager

The More Things Change...

I went digging through our archives to find the first edition of TV Formats; I was curious to see just how much had changed in this business and how much had stayed the same over the last 20 years.

As it turns out, a lot has stayed the same; our inaugural edition of TV Formats at MIPCOM 2002 (the same year I started at World Screen) featured key buyers discussing their biggest non-scripted successes, which that year included Survivor, Fear Factor and Temptation Island—brands that remain part of the fabric of the reality TV landscape.

The number of megaformats has ballooned over the years, with newer properties like The Voice , Married at First Sight and The Masked Singer joining the likes of Big Brother , MasterChef and Dancing with the Stars in the mix of properties that broadcasters can’t seem to get enough of. Is the reliance on these global hits crowding out innovation and risk-taking? Perhaps, but the many format distributors I surveyed for our state of the busi ness report in this edition are feeling remarkably bullish about the sector and the potential for genuinely break through ideas to come to the fore. Whether innovating megaformats with new twists and tweaks, rebooting classic shows or scouring the globe to develop zeit geisty ideas, format producers and distributors argue that the business has bounced back significantly from the pandemic-induced lull in production.

CONTENTS

FEATURES

BACK IN BLOOM

Leading format development and distribution executives discuss maintaining megafranchises, scouting for innovative ideas and the trend toward reboots.

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT!

As our latest TV Formats Screenings Festival indicates, dating, game shows, talent and engaging factual enter tainment remain in vogue.

INTERVIEW

Ricardo Seguin Guise

President

Anna Carugati Executive VP

Mansha Daswani

Associate Publisher & VP of Strategic Development

TV Formats

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Several dynamics are powering this rebound, including the perennial need for broadcasters to deliver shows that will res onate with local audiences, recessionary fears that have buy ers eager to save on development spend and get shows to air quickly and efficiently, and the emergence of the streaming platforms in what was once a linear-channel-only game.

From Dancing with the Stars moving to Disney+ to Netflix rebooting The Mole to the arrival of new players like HBO Max and Peacock, the streamers are having a significant impact on the business. And as it turns out, their needs aren’t that different from traditional broadcasters anymore. Are you going to see your traditional studio game show on a streamer?

Unlikely. But their involvement in buzzy areas like dating, cooking and social experiments could well lead to a new level of innovation in the non-scripted area. Distributors are also keeping a keen eye on how next-generation technologies will reshape the business, delivering new ways for audiences to interact with the shows they love.

REACHING

—Mansha Daswani

FREMANTLE’S ROB CLARK

The director of global entertainment on what broad casters are looking for and the qualities that make for scalable, returnable format brands.

EXECUTIVES

SUBSCRIBE HERE: SUBSCRIPTIONS.WS

Armoza Formats

Parents Unfiltered / The Fittest Pensioner / Pet Detectives

Among Armoza Formats’ highlights, Parents Unfiltered exposes the reality of modern parenting as three families get the unique chance to see their parenting style from the outside. After filming their lives for a week, they sit with an expert and watch each other’s home videos to offer support and critiques. In The Fittest Pensioner , ten of the fittest seniors move into a home together to compete in mental and physical challenges. Whoever has the lowest score goes up for elimination. Pet Detectives follows a team of pet-finding specialists who look for lost pets. “What is so great about this format is that, with just a few tweaks, it can be adapted for family viewing or true-crime fans alike,” says Adva Avichzer, head of sales.

ITV Studios

Loaded in Paradise / Bad Chefs / My Mom, Your Dad

Produced by Twofour for ITVX and ITV2, Loaded in Paradise is among the lead offerings from ITV Studios. The adrenalinefueled reality game show sees party-loving pairs island hop around Greece in a race to take control of—and spend—€50,000. Produced by Lifted Entertainment for ITV2 and ITV Hub, Bad Chefs watches as YouTube sensa tion Chunkz welcomes ten culinary-challenged takeaway addicts to the Bad Chefs Cooking School in a reality cook ing competition. My Mom, Your Dad , produced by ITV America’s ITV Entertainment for HBO Max and by ITV Studios Australia for 9Network, follows a group of single par ents who have been nominated by their kids aged 18-plus for a second chance at love. “All the formats have universal con cepts that can reach a broad audience and all have an upbeat vibe,” says Charlotte van Weede, sales director.

Media Ranch

My Song to Denmark / The Ultimate Braai Master / Hollywood 911

Media Ranch has on offer three new formats from Denmark, South Africa and the U.S. The music competition My Song to Denmark , created by DR, features 15 top musicians who travel the country on a quest to get inspired to create a hit song. The format “has all the right components—celebrity musicians, catchy songs and a love of country—that can appeal to viewers in every territory,” says Sophie Ferron, president and founder of Media Ranch. From South Africa’s Trace Studios, The Ultimate Braai Master sees teams compete in barbecue challenges for cash, cars and bragging rights. Hollywood 911 offers a look at medical emergencies, home invasions and epic meltdowns that demonstrate how celebrities are just like us and must call 911 when trouble arises.

“All these formats touch on emotional connections that are universal, making their topics relatable for audiences everywhere.”

—Adva Avichzer

“Bad Chefs is a show where the audience will truly laugh out loud while the candidates are trying to cook.”

—Charlotte van Weede

“We are open and enthusiastic to work with producers and partners from everywhere.”

—Sophie Ferron

Bad Chefs

The Fittest Pensioner

Hollywood 911

Nippon TV

Time Potion / Old Enough!

From the creators of Dark Doubt, Nippon TV’s Time Potion is a high-concept game-show format where time is the ultimate ruler. The rule is: Save every second no matter what or drink the “time potion” and recover your life—or else you’re out. “This new unscripted format is exciting and sure to entertain audiences around the world with an easily adaptable concept,” says Yuki Akehi, director of international business development at Nippon TV. The company is also presenting Old Enough! , which follows children running errands on their own for the very first time while being filmed by an incognito camera crew. “Our very popular format Old Enough! is attracting much attention from format creators after streaming its ready-made version on Netflix in over 190 countries this year,” Akehi says.

Paramount Global Content Distribution

The Real Love Boat / Superfan / Pictionary

Paramount Global Content Distribution has a format lineup that includes dating and reality, a music game show and a parlor game show. The Real Love Boat, for one, brings singles together to sail the Mediterranean on a luxury cruise ship while looking for love. “Like the beloved original scripted series, the indispensable crew members, including captain and cruise director, will play pivotal roles in the matchmaking and navigation of the romantic (and sometimes turbulent) waters ahead,” says Paul Gilbert, senior VP of international formats. In Superfan, contestants compete in a fast-paced music-centric game show that tests fans’ knowledge about that week’s superstar. The show intersperses musical performances and gameplay. Pictionary is based on the classic Mattel game of quick sketches and comedic guesses.

Passion Distribution

Send Nudes: Body SOS / Open House: The Great Sex Experiment / Most Identical

288 WORLD SCREEN 10/22 Passion Distribution is showcasing the format Send Nudes: Body SOS, which invites participants who are considering changing their bodies to investigate what it would look like by using state-of-the-art VR technology to build a naked avatar of themselves. “ Send Nudes is a bold take on a body transformation show,” says Agnes Mbye, senior sales manager for formats. Open House: The Great Sex Experiment is a social experiment that allows curious couples in long-term, committed relationships to explore if having sex with strangers will enhance and strengthen their relationship. It has already been recommissioned for a second season on Channel 4 in the U.K. Most Identical is a reality format that uses a series of scientific tests to find the country’s most identical twins.

“We have been receiving many offers to create international versions of Old Enough! ”

—Yuki Akehi

“Send Nudes is a warm and entertaining transformation show with truly surprising reveals.”

—Agnes Mbye

Send Nudes: Body SOS

The Real Love Boat

Old Enough!

“Come and see us for the best shows in all categories.”

—Paul Gilbert

BBC Studios’ Dating with My Mates

in Bloom Back

As TV Formats marks its 20th anniversary, Mansha Daswani checks in with some of the industry’s leading players on what’s driving the business today.

The 2000s ushered in the era of the megaformats, marking the arrival of global hits like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? , Big Brother and Sur vivor. Twenty-plus years later and the busi ness is thriving—with those brands remarkably still on the air in several territories—despite what has been a difficult two years.

“The format business was one of the first to slow down when Covid-19 hit, but it was also one of the first to quickly respond and kick off again,” says Tim Gerhartz, the managing director of Red Arrow Studios International. “It’s an adaptable and flexible genre, as you can quickly stop and start produc tion; you easily can change elements or adjust the volume as needed or to suit demand.”

James Townley, global head of content development at Banijay, observes, “We are seeing a bounce back both from a new IP point of view, as well as with our big super-brands. The opportunities are all there. Last year, Banijay launched over 200 new shows.”

Andre Renaud, senior VP of global format sales at BBC Stu dios, notes that while the segment struggled as produc tions were shut down or scaled back, format licensing and development proceeded at a brisk pace.

“People were looking to us for high-quality shows that they could get to air quickly and to find formats that could be

produced under a Covid-safe environment,” he explains, citing new deals for Weakest Link in the U.S., Greece and Australia

All3Media International, similarly, is home to several brands that were able to continue production amid the pandemic “and even gain new commissions, such as Gogglebox and The Cube ,” says Nick Smith, the company’s executive VP of for mats. “The sector has more than bounced back. Race Across the World, which couldn’t be produced in 2020-21, now has three versions in production.”

NEW NEW THINGS

Production slowdowns also provided an opportunity for pro ducers to come up with new concepts, according to Renaud. “That time is now starting to bear fruit. If we’re looking at a bounce back, it’s probably about these creative ideas that peo ple had the freedom and flexibility to come up with.”

Tom Miyauchi, head of formats, international business development at Nippon TV, concurs with Renaud’s assess ment, noting, “Format creators from around the world lived the new norm and spent the past two years concentrating on the development of new ideas. As a result, we are now seeing a burst of creativity in the market with many new formats.”

For Avi Armoza, founder and CEO of Armoza Formats, a division of ITV Studios, that influx of creativity has been

sitions. “During Covid, most broadcasters exhausted their cur rent formats and had less of a need or desire to change their lineup of shows and bring in something new. Due to this exhaustion, broadcasters are back searching for new for mats to either replace an established show or to give a break to the well-known formats before bringing them back to their viewers.”

STREAM ON

The fast-proliferating on-demand landscape is also helping to power the revival of the formats business, with All3Media International’s Smith pointing to the arrival of a wealth of new buyers. “We have licensed formats to global and local SVOD platforms this year such as discovery+, HBO Max, Streamz and VOYO,” he says. “Our formats business has surpassed where we were before the pandemic.”

The consensus among format rights owners is that the needs of broadcasters and streamers are not as different as they once were.

“Broadcasters all have a VOD strategy now,” says Gerhartz at Red Arrow Studios International. “They’re all looking for

linear and that also offer volume, especially for the binge-watching audience.

“There are exceptions, though,” Gerhartz adds. “Certain genres remain a linear game, such as live event shows and studio-based game shows. But most traditional networks are equally looking for binge-watchable, VOD-capable shows.”

BBC Studios’ Renaud says there are slight nuances in the dif ferent needs across platforms. “The bigger broadcasters are looking for prime-time entertainment brands that draw a large audience. The growing competition among the streamers themselves means they’re also looking for brands with wide appeal. They’re often looking for established brand names or talent to stand apart from their competitors. It seems like every streamer is looking for their niche in dating and cooking— [which] are evergreens for linear broadcasters, too. The main advantage for streamers is that they have the nuanced audi ence data and, therefore, the ability to create new ideas target ing a specific audience.”

“The wants and needs of the broadcasters and streamers are merging,” agrees Townley at Banijay. “Local networks all have catch-up services. They all want content that resonates with audiences, whether it’s four-quad, family view ing or a younger demographic, and successful formats that are low-cost and high-volume are definitely desirable. The broadcast networks have the ability to deliver live, appointment-toview television, and they are really strong in the studio entertainment space. But at the end of the day, they all want content; they want to feed the beast. The streamers also want to keep view ers for the entirety of a series, whereas some broadcast networks can do stand-alone nonscripted entertainment shows audiences can dip in and out of.”

Armoza agrees, stating that the clear differ ence between streamers and broadcasters is that the former prefer shows with an arc and a clear visual hook that will grab audiences immediately.

“Streamers are looking for titles that really stand out from the crowd,” says All3Media Inter national’s Smith. “Streamers are also open

Banijay’s Starstruck had a strong launch on ITV this year and has been renewed for a second season.

Paramount Global Content Distribution represents the megabrand Wheel of Fortune

to shows that are more niche than linear broad casters would go to—they don’t necessarily have to attract a huge audience but serve neglected groups and convince them to subscribe to their platform.”

Sophie Ferron, president and founder of Media Ranch, adds that the global streamers “also need to control the international rights. The networks want that same high-concept idea. They’re competing against the streamers. It’s an opportunity for the producers to go to the broadcasters and get a better deal. They will be more generous in terms of inter national rights because they know that the stream ers are not. That’s an opportunity for pro ducers and format creators like us.”

BRAND RECOGNITION

With Dancing with the Stars moving to Disney+ and Netflix resurrecting The Mole, it’s clear that reboots and megabrands are being sought after by broadcasters and platforms alike.

A returning franchise is the holy grail for format IP owners, and many of the distributors surveyed here have tak en great pains to ensure that their megabrands return refreshed and updated, season after season.

At Red Arrow Studios International, Gerhartz refer ences the time that has gone into building Married at First Sight into a franchise, with broadcasters such as Channel 4 in the U.K., Lifetime in the U.S. and 9Network in Australia “supersizing their offerings” of the show, he says. “During Covid, especially, many channels realized they could turn Married at First Sight into a megabrand with spin-offs and additional tapes of other international versions. We even have a couple of countries that have two separate versions on air at the same time; RTL in the Netherlands has a more traditional version on the main channel and a more reality-TV-driven version on the VOD platform, while in Finland, MTV3 has commissioned a 20-episode supersized version to sit alongside the original version.”

Gerhartz continues, “The key to successful brand manage ment in the format business is to ensure a show remains authentic and true to itself but has room to develop in response to changing viewing patterns and habits.”

BBC Studios is home to such megaformats as Dancing with the Stars and The Great Bake Off. “We’re always asking our selves, how do we keep improving?” Renaud says. “We make sure that our flying producer network has opportunities for our commissioners and producers around the world to have creative exchanges. We’re continually trying to see if some thing that works in one place can travel elsewhere. In one ter ritory, Bake Off did a house of cards with biscuits. The visual was so strong and persuasive at a creative exchange that we saw three or four other markets replicate it.”

At Banijay, Townley’s colleague Lucas Green, global head of content operations, is laser-focused on maintaining that com pany’s significant portfolio of hits. Townley refers to the process as “creative renewal.”

Older formats are also being dusted off and rebooted, with broadcasters and platforms looking to hedge their bets slight ly by offering up something that is both new and has some brand recognition.

“We are also seeing a revival of shows that were strong before Covid, like Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds ,”

Gerhartz says, pointing to Old People’s Home for Teenagers in Australia. “It’s a good example of taking an existing brand but renewing it and putting it into a fresh context. The idea is still relevant; you just have to update the execution.”

BBC Studios’ Renaud agrees that there’s a trend toward rebooting older fare, “but it’s shows that have had a good pause from TV, so it feels like a renaissance instead of a riskaverse piece,” he says.

But an industry reliance on reboots and megabrands does make it that much harder for a brand-new idea to break through.

“It’s not easy to make it in non-scripted,” says Nadav Palti, president and CEO of Dori Media Group. “You develop and develop and develop. Only 1 out of 100 makes it and catches the audience. It’s very tough to convince a broadcaster to take the risk and put it on air.”

Nippon TV has begun rolling out Old Enough!, recently securing a Dutch option on the format.

Old People ’s Home for Teenagers on ABC in Australia is a new take on the Red Arrow Studios International format.

Audiences are, however, clamoring for new concepts, Media Ranch’s Ferron says. “When something breaks out, like Love Is Blind , everybody watches it. There’s an appetite for new. What we see with the megabrands is the risk-averse executives saying, Well, at least we know what we have in this. It’s the devil we know. But after a while, you need to think of what will be the next thing.”

Armoza notes, “This is the contradiction that we see in the industry of formats and new ideas—there is a strong need for new ideas, but at the same time, broadcasters feel safe to keep broadcasting the shows they know and have a track record already.”

However, IP owners are seeing some willingness on the part of buyers to try unproven ideas, despite the recessionary fears gripping the global economy.

“I don’t think anybody in this industry can afford to act riskaverse—maintaining the status quo is not an option anymore,” Gerhartz at Red Arrow Studios International says. “It’s an

indus try in a state of transformation, the speed of which has accelerated because of Covid. There’s certainly a strong willing ness to shape the future, push boundaries and try new things.”

RISK & REWARD

Banijay’s Townley says broadcasters are being considered in their choices given the uncertain economic climate. “They have to be incredibly strategic about what they invest in and the bets they are taking. Luckily, most buyers are quite bal anced with taking on existing and new IP. We’re a creative community, but we can’t ignore the financial constraints— creatives want budgets to go up, not down, but we have to be able to adapt, and we’re here to help find those solutions.”

Paul Gilbert, senior VP of international formats at Paramount Global Content Distribution, says broadcasters are particularly focused on budgets given the concerns about next year. “Their way of combatting the economic cli mate is to cut the cost of production. I get it. However, we try to convince them to order more episodes, which will result in a lower cost per episode. Sometimes they agree, and sometimes they don’t.”

While Gilbert notes that pitching a show with a track record is helpful, broadcasters shouldn’t be overly reliant on ratings in another territory when making commissioning decisions. “There’s nothing better than pitching a show that is on-air and is suc cessful. Everyone wants to buy off success, and I understand that. However, many great shows have not made it past season one for several reasons: bad time slot, subpar casting or not being well produced. I always tell a buyer, Forget how the show performed on-air—if you like it and feel it will do well for your channel, then step up and make us an offer.”

Smith at All3Media International says that creators need to be, well, extra creative in this landscape. “ Format creators have to be smart, whether that means partnering with owners of IP from other spheres to create a TV format or finding ingenious ways to promote new shows. For example, in Belgium, we have closed a deal with a company that operates virtual reality venues to create a game based on the celebrity

Armoza Formats’ Sex Tape has aired in 15 markets.

Stand-Up Warrior is a new format being rolled out by Dori Media Group.

horror format Don’t Scream . They are promoting the game and also the TV series, which, of course, is attrac tive to the commissioner.”

Co-development initiatives, whether among produc ers, broadcasters or distributors, can also be an effec tive process for building formats that are scalable and easily replicable.

“Nippon TV is a pioneer in format co-developments, having partnered with major studios such as Red Arrow Studios for Block Out , ITV Studios for Stacking It! and The Story Lab for 9 Windows , and many more,” says Miyauchi. “It does take some time to develop new for mats across different cultural backgrounds; however, we have garnered many more opportunities and partnerships than ever before with format co-developments. We are expanding our global footprint by building new strategic creative collaborations with international partners to cre ate original content for viewers worldwide.”

“Co-development is really about creating a partnership between companies with great ideas, in-depth local knowl edge about what their respective market wants, great access to commissioners and budgets, and expertise in marketing and selling the idea,” says Red Arrow Studios International’s Gerhartz. “That’s the purpose of the distri bution business: to turn an idea into business—it’s not enough to just have a great idea. These partnerships can happen across any territories and on different levels of the value chain.”

INFORMATION EXCHANGE

Creative exchange happens across the Banijay portfolio of 120 companies, Townley says. “ We have an internal creative fund set up to invest in embryonic new ideas, fully focused on supporting our producers and super charging our development pipeline. We know how com petitive this market is, so we need to make our IP stand out. We’ve seen positive outcomes from ensuring a new idea is well supported with exceptional materials.”

Renaud points to the development that is happening across BBC Studios, referencing as an example Ex Rated , created by U.K. indie Mighty Productions. “Our L.A. production team worked with them to devel op it and attach talent, and it got picked up by Peacock in the U.S. With that U.S. commission, we can take it back out into the market.”

Dori Media is looking for new ideas via an acceler ator program. Palti notes: “156 new ideas were sub mitted to the program. We chose 20 and then six and then we chose two to develop. Spy Date is a differ ent angle on dating. It combines a secret world— Mossad, CIA, KGB—with love and dating. Stand-Up Warrior has comedians who have to prove them selves in a space they are not comfortable in.”

Nippon TV, meanwhile, “launched a new cre ative team internally with a thriving group of young creators who specialize in developing new paper formats and new creative collaborations,” Miyauchi says.

Armoza Formats, which is part of the ITV Studios network, has a range of processes in place to spot the next big thing. “Our dynamic development team brings a deep knowledge of the industry and

creative ways of thinking,” says Armoza, who adds that the company hosts an annual pitch competition, Formagination.

Media Ranch hosts Horsepower, an incubator program for new ideas, and partners with producers across the globe. “We are extremely open to receiving pitches from all over the world,” Ferron says. “We have strong relationships in Scandi navia and South Korea, and we recently closed a deal with Trace Studios in South Africa. That gives us a footprint in these territories. That’s how we get to these new territories and these new creators. And we have the creators from Horsepow er coming to us with new formats and ideas.”

Ultimately, “good ideas can come from anywhere in the world,” Gerhartz at Red Arrow Studios International says, “but it needs know-how and experience to turn an idea into a project.”

“We are in the business of telling stories,” Armoza says. “From our perspective, every format is a story. It seems at this point that all the stories have been told. The challenge now is to find a new way to tell the story of talent shows, entertainment shows, reality shows.”

All3Media International’s high-concept game show The Traitors was acquired by Peacock in the U.S.

Wild America, from Media Ranch, is a competition for nature cinematographers.

That’s Entertainment!

As our latest TV Formats Screenings Festival indicates, dating, game shows, talent and engaging factual entertainment remain in vogue.

T apping into the resources of its sister companies and third par ties, All3Media International has assembled an enviable format cat alog to meet the needs of diverse buyers across the globe. The high-end game show The Traitors delivers “thrilling challenges, fas cinating group dynamics, constant plot twists and plenty of scheming and double-dealings,” says Nick Smith, executive VP of formats. Also on offer is the iconic This is Your Life, which has “shown its staying power decades later, continuing to prove its ratings-winning success,” Smith notes, as well as the cooking competition Kitchen Nightmares . The family-friendly talent compe tition Last Singer Standing from ShinAwiL, Optomen Television’s “feel-good” Sort Your Life Out and ModestTV’s dating format Date or Drop, renewed by RTL in Germany, round out the offerings.

All3Media International’s This is Your Life

ZDF Studios is bringing to market the game show Quiz Hunt, which has been a long-running hit on ServusTV. The show features a life-sized board game on which contestants answer questions as they progress toward a cash prize. “The simplicity of this game show, along with the thrill of the chase, is what makes Quiz Hunt so addictive,” says Ralf Rückauer, VP Unscripted.

Factual entertainment and dating are in the mix in BBC Studios’ lineup, including the social experiment Art on the Brain. In Hungry For It, mean while, ten cooks eager to break into the food industry vie for a lifechanging opportunity.

Dori Media Group arrives at MIPCOM with a new reality competition in which stand-up comedians go through a martial-arts boot camp. Stand-Up Warrior is a “story about change and empowerment,” says Carolina Sabbag, VP of sales for Western Europe, the U.S. and Canada. Also new to the com pany’s lineup is Spy Date, a reality dating show that combines the worlds of romance and espionage. A long-running hit for the company is the game show Power Couple.

Armoza Formats is touting the prime-time game show Family Piggy Bank, which, per Avi Armoza, CEO, brings together “amazing CGI technol ogy with fun-filled family game play. Both of these have led to the success of the format in Portugal, and we look forward to many more adaptations.” Armoza Formats is also showcasing a provocative social experiment, Sex Tape, which has already been adapted in 15 markets.

ZDF Studios’ Quiz Hunt

BBC Studios’ Hungry For It

down turn; people are worried about a recession, security for their fuel and inflation. In this slate, I’ve tried to look for something that is a complete antidote to that. Everything is fun and friendly. Also, a lot of the shows are family-friendly. I still think television, no matter the platform, [provides] an opportunity for families to sit down and share. And in a recession, you’re not going to do that much in the theater or restaurants. Some families will do it solely at home in big pullovers because they won’t be having their gas or heating!

TV FORMATS: Are there key elements to dating, talent com petition and quiz shows? Have those elements changed since the audience has so much choice?

CLARK: I always used to say to our development team that there are three pillars [to a format]. It has to be transferable; it can’t be culturally tied to one specific thing in your coun try. It has to be scalable because if you are going to make a show that transfers across the world, then you need to make it with an American budget for a large country and a much smaller budget for a country with a smaller popula tion or GDP. It also has to be returnable. We don’t want a show we make once and can never return.

I would add that it needs to be promotable. You need something that instantly grabs you. That can be a concept, a

Rob Clark Fremantle

By Anna Carugati

For nearly two decades, Rob Clark, currently the direc tor of global entertainment at Fremantle, has over seen the rollout of dozens of successful formats, from talent competitions to dating and quiz shows. As he prepares to step down at the company, Clark shares with TV Formats the elements he deems essential for a program to travel to several countries and satisfy today’s audiences.

TV FORMATS: What are you hearing from broadcasters about their format needs today?

CLARK: There is a positivity about most broadcasters in that they seem to have found a way of bucking the trend in their ratings. They are looking for new formats and new content.

At Fremantle, there are two prongs to our development and production. One is local, where a show is developed in a territory and stays in that territory, and we don’t ever expect it to travel. My job is to look for things that can travel and become multi-territory or global. In those areas, what we are looking for is, as ever, universal themes. We’ve got formats that are about first love. We’ve got formats that explore friendship. We’ve got formats that explore relation ships that have been well established. We’ve got formats that are about adventure and romance.

The other aspect is that it’s a fun and very positive slate. There is nothing that I would call negative or downbeat. In Europe, where the majority of our production companies are, there is a big war for the first time in most of our life times. The consequences of that are an economic

style, or a look. It needs to grab quickly and have an engag ing title because if it hasn’t got an engaging title, no one will watch it. I think that is the under-explored area of TV. How many shows were quite good but had dreadful titles?

Also, clever developers develop shows within the world. The world isn’t the same as it was, regardless of how many people watch television or where we watch it. The realworld experiences of our audience change what they’re looking for. I believe they are looking for something that takes them away from the realities of the world that they live in. There is a degree of escapism.

TV FORMATS: In your years working in the business, of which shows or accomplishments are you most proud? CLARK: If you go back to 2003 when I joined Fremantle, and you look at our catalog then and now, it’s a very different beast. I believe that over the last 19 years, we’ve found shows, developed and acquired shows that will be on air for the rest of my life and probably lots of younger people’s lives. When you look after a catalog like Fremantle’s, and you’ve got shows like The Price Is Right and Family Feud, you realize what a privilege it is.

And then you’ve got big beasts like Got Talent, The X Factor and Idols. These changed the way people watched television. And the way we made television. They changed how broadcasters had to budget these shows because they are not cheap. But they bring audiences and the right sort of audiences from a commercial point of view.