TV Formats MIPCOM 2010

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Consolidation Report Mark Burnett Talpa’s John de Mol Banijay’s François de Brugada www.tvformats.ws

MIPCOM EDITION THE MAGAZINE FOR THE FORMAT BUSINESS

OCTOBER 2010

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Armoza Formats www.armozaformats.com

“ It’s a growing business, and we have some great

• Connected • 7-Question Millionaire • Restart • The Frame • Extreme Wedding Album

formats, both for prime-time and niche networks, that we’re excited to promote.

”

—Avi Armoza

At MIPTV, Armoza Formats launched the cross-platform format The Frame, and the show has been gaining momentum ever since. “Part of the reason why The Frame has been so successful is because it so intelligently incorporates interactive elements into a wholly multiscreen concept,” says Avi Armoza, the CEO of the company. “The Frame functions equally on all three screens and its very structure and game play relies on the consistent participation of viewers.” Armoza adds, “We’re taking this theme even further at MIPCOM with our three new releases, which are all essentially cross-platform in structure.” These new launches are Connected, 7-Question Millionaire and Restart. “Our goal is to introduce the concept of Armoza Formats 3.0, a new portfolio of ‘three-screen TV’ formats,” says Armoza. The company’s catalogue also includes Extreme Wedding Album, Comedians at Work and The Bubble.

Connected

Casanova Multimedia www.casanovamultimedia.it

IN THIS ISSUE The Consolidation Game: How Big is Big Enough?

Consolidation continues to alter the format business 22 The Consolidation Game: Will the Small Survive?

The benefits of remaining as an independent distributor 26 Interviews Talpa’s John de Mol Mark Burnett Banijay’s François de Brugada

32 33 34

• Jail • Marriage Test • Two Steps • Buvette Café • Run

Casanova Multimedia recently created a new formats division with the aim of selling its own original scripted and unscripted projects. “We think that the Italian creativity is great and we are ready to export it worldwide,” says Casanova’s CEO, Luca Barbareschi. “We have already produced fantastic stories for the public network Rai Uno and, with great directors and writers, we have the ability and capacity to adapt great stories abroad.” In the unscripted arena, Casanova is showcasing Jail, a reality show; Marriage Test, focusing on newlymarried couples; Two Steps, in which celebrities invite a VIP to live with them in their homes; Buvette Café, a comedy show set in a real House of Parliament; and Run. Scripted highlights include Silent Music, with classical music at its core.

“ We think that the Italian creativity is great and we are ready to export it worldwide.

”

—Luca Barbareschi

Run

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Comcast International Media Group www.comcastintl.com • Baggage • Bridalplasty

Ricardo Seguin Guise

Publisher Anna Carugati

Editor Mansha Daswani

Executive Editor Kristin Brzoznowski

Managing Editor Matthew Rippetoe

Production and Design Director Simon Weaver

Online Director Phyllis Q. Busell

Art Director

Comcast International Media Group (CIMG) just recently entered the format arena and already the move has proven to be a good one. Baggage, produced by the in-house production group Comcast Entertainment Studios, has been licensed in the U.K., Sweden, France and Spain, among other territories. The global rollout has been boosted by “the unprecedented ratings success of the Jerry Springer-hosted U.S. version (airing on GSN) and we will continue to see the interest grow internationally as local versions go to air,” says Jene Elzie, the VP of international sales and strategic planning at CIMG. “Building on this momentum, we are pleased to bring Bridalplasty to the market,” she continues. The series, premiering on E! in the U.S. this November, will see the age-old pursuit of perfection paired with the wildly popular wedding genre. “Like Baggage, the reason this format works so well is—in this case, the perfect wedding and the perfect body.”

Baggage

“ We have been pleased with the results from our format sales, which is a relatively new area for CIMG.

”

—Jene Elzie

Kelly Quiroz

Sales & Marketing Manager Erica Antoine-Cole

Business Affairs Manager Cesar Suero

Sales & Marketing Coordinator Alyssa Menard

Sales & Marketing Assistant

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

FremantleMedia www.fremantlemedia.com • My Name is…

• You Can’t Take It with You • Total Blackout • Work of Art: The Next Great Artist • Face It

A fresh crop of entertainment, game-show and factualentertainment formats join FremantleMedia’s MIPCOM lineup. “We’re very pleased to be bringing My Name is…, a big cross-genre entertainment show that takes impersonation shows and ‘look-alike’ programs to the next level,” says Rob Clark, FremantleMedia’s president of worldwide entertainment. Another new offering is You Can’t Take It with You, which Clark describes as a “ground-breaking and emotional new factual-entertainment format that follows the journey of individual families as they prepare their wills.” Total Blackout is a game show that takes place in complete darkness, while Work of Art: The Next Great Artist is an art competition. “We also have a bizarre, hilarious new game show from Fuji TV called Face It, where contestants confront physical challenges using only their heads!” Clark adds.

My Name is...

“ With the slate that we are bringing to MIPCOM this year, we expect that this will be a very exciting and fruitful market for FremantleMedia.

”

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

—Rob Clark

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Global Agency www.theglobalagency.tv • The King’s Jungle • The Big Challenge • My Ex is My Witness!

• Forbidden Love • Perfect Bride

In a game of survival, endurance and strategy, The King’s Jungle, a lead offering from Global Agency, is set within a tough island environment. Another competition-style format in the catalogue is The Big Challenge, where 12 people start a new life in a completely different country, each trying to outdo each other to see who can earn the most money. There’s also a crop of formats that are centered on love and relationships. My Ex is My Witness! brings divorced couples together under the same roof as they look for new partners. Perfect Bride incorporates mothers into the selection for the perfect partner. Rounding out the catalogue is the scripted drama Forbidden Love. “Global Agency aims to spread the word at MIPCOM…that we provide excellent service and we work tirelessly to find the most innovative, ratings-busting ideas for our clients around the world,” says Izzet Pinto, Global Agency’s CEO. “We expect to build on our success year after year at this and all future MIPs.”

Forbidden Love

“ We believe in creativity without limits and the universal appeal of great entertainment formats.

”

—Izzet Pinto

ITV Studios Global Entertainment www.globalent.itv.com • Coach Trip • Four Weddings • The Parent Trip • The Chase • Come Dine with Me

Many of the formats in ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s catalogue have been proven successes, among them Come Dine with Me, which was recently picked up for a U.S. adaptation for BBC America.

ITV will also be offering up Coach Trip, Four Weddings and The Parent Trip, as well as The Chase. “These are formats which feel fresh and different, so whoever picks them up gets the reward of offering original content to their audience,” says Tobi de Graaff, the director of global television distribution at ITV Studios Global Entertainment.

“Through our global production network we bring the second vital ingredient to make a good concept a success and that is the expertise on how to make these shows. The craft of producing cannot be underestimated and we are really proud of our production excellence,” he adds.

Coach Trip

“We’re pleased to be able to talk to buyers about a large slate of shows that have already proven themselves in the market.

”

—Tobi de Graaff

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

• A Star’s Life in Lyrics • The Parents • Grilling Chefs!

• Seduction • The Crossed Fingers’ Club

La Presse Télé is touting a portfolio of original Québec concepts, all quite cost effective, says André Provencher, the company’s president. “As producers of our own programming, we know the importance of exploiting new platform opportunities, social networks and new technologies,” he explains. “Cutting-edge programming is our pride.”

At MIPCOM, La Presse Télé is bringing two new cooking reality shows, including Grilling Chefs!, as well as the established hits A Star’s Life in Lyrics and The Parents. Further highlights include Seduction and The Crossed Fingers’ Club. And it’s not just sales that Provencher has on his MIPCOM wish list. “La Presse Télé actively participates in the industry as a distributor as well as a buyer of formats. We look forward to establishing strategic alliances with similar international companies who share our innovative vision.”

“ Every show in our diverse catalogue becomes an audience favorite and triumphs in its time slot.

”

—André Provencher

Resonant TV www.resonant.tv • Fishbowl • My Problem with Women • The Great Andy • Collateral Man

“ [These shows] are proven scripted formats that have been successful in their countries of origin.

”

Scripted formats are what’s on offer from Resonant TV, including the comedy My Problem with Women. The comedic series looks at how little men really understand the opposite sex. Also in the comedy realm is The Great Andy. From Resonant’s drama slate comes Fishbowl, a 120x30-minute series. It follows a high-school psychologist who helps teenage students deal with tough issues such as sexual conflict, drug abuse and eating disorders.

Also on offer is the psychological thriller Collateral Man, which follows a young psychiatrist who must battle a messenger from the underworld. These offerings are “proven scripted formats that have been successful in their countries of origin,” notes Gonzalo Cilley, the president of Resonant. Cilley explains that his larger goal for MIPCOM is to “continue to evangelize to channels and production companies the benefits of acquiring a scripted format as an alternative and complement of their original series.”

——Gonzalo Cilley

Fishbowl

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Sparks Network www.sparksnetwork.com • Just Married • Tourist Guides • Ezel • Battle of the Blades • Amazing Stories

Battle of the Blades

With its members hailing from some of the world’s most prolific content markets, Sparks Network has a broad mix of new formats to offer. The reality show Just Married, for example, is a Korean production from Everyshow for MBC. Battle of the Blades hails from Canada’s Insight Productions and was created for CBC. Amazing Stories, combining reality and fiction, is a production from Elephant & C:ie for France 2. The reality format Tourist Guides is produced by Susamuru for Nelonen. Topping off the slate is Ezel, which is also available as a ready-made from Turkey’s Ay Yapim. “Ezel is a fantastic drama series that we have already sold to some ten countries,” says Fredrik af Malmborg, the managing director of Sparks. Malmborg adds that one of his goals for the market is to sell Ezel to Western European countries. He also has strong sales ambitions for Tourist Guides and is looking to sell the format into ten different countries at this market.

“ It is increasingly important to be able to deliver really good productions in cost-efficient ways, in many cases by co-productions and by adding more values to a format than just the idea.

”

—Fredrik af Malmborg

Telefe International www.telefeinternacional.com.ar • Just in Time • 3, 2, 1 … Let’s Win! • WAGs, Love for the Game • The Successful Mr. and Mrs. Pells • Everybody Against Juan

It’s a mix of entertainment, telenovelas and fiction genres that make up the formats catalogue at Telefe International. Just in Time and 3, 2, 1 … Let’s Win! are “simple, original and easy entertainment shows, to be produced either for an access- or prime-time slot, targeting the whole family,” says Michelle Wasserman, the head of international distribution, programming, formats and production services at Telefe. From the telenovela arena are WAGs, Love for the Game and The Successful Mr. and Mrs. Pells. Wasserman says that these stories differ from the traditional telenovelas and can capture a wide range of viewers, from teens to young adults to older audiences. For the series Everybody Against Juan, Wasserman believes it’s the relatable story line that makes this show a success. “It’s an original story that can be reflected in any of us trying to reach what we had once achieved and [then lost],” she says.

WAGs, Love for the Game

“ These are simple, original and easy entertainment shows...targeting the whole family.

”

—Michelle Wasserman

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Televisa Internacional www.televisainternacional.tv • Decades (Decadas)

“ In the past, all our reality formats A light-entertainment offering, Decades is a variety format that revives the best musical moments from the last 50 years, with the help of famous guest stars from the worlds of music, entertainment and sports. “Our main purpose with this format is to give our clients a fresh option, since our reality formats are already popular and well positioned,” says José Luis Romero, the director of formats and new content at Televisa Internacional.

“Decades is based on a fascinating journey through time, which involves live music and singing performances, special guests, life stories and lots of surprises for the audience in the studio.” Romero adds that the wide array of segments housed within this single format make the show “a great and appealing option for viewers in any part of the world and an interesting option for our clients covering a wide audience in their territories.”

Romero has high hopes for Decades to follow in the footsteps of Televisa’s other reality formats, which “have proven to be reliable and successful products. Now we believe it is the perfect time to bring a new entertainment format to our customers.”

have proven to be reliable and successful products.

”

—José Luis Romero

Decades

Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution www.foxformats.com • • • • •

How I Met Your Mother

Malcolm in the Middle Murder One How I Met Your Mother NYPD Blue Prison Break

Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution is providing the global market with the opportunity to produce a number of its dramas and comedies as local adaptations.

“Partnering with production companies who have a strong fit with the particular material, we focus on maintaining the integrity of the original series as it is developed for the local market,” says Marion Edwards, the president of international television at Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution. “For example, we recently partnered with Channel One, the leading broadcaster in Russia who also has a distinguished track record in drama production, to develop a Russian version of the hit Fox drama series Prison Break.” Further series offered for international treatments include Malcolm in the Middle, Murder One, My Name is Earl, NYPD Blue and Bones. The catalogue also includes Dharma & Greg, How I MetYour Mother, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Remington Steele.

“We focus on maintaining the integrity of the original series as it is developed for the local market.

”

—Marion Edwards

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The Consolidation Game:

How Big Is The Consolidation BigGame: Enough?

A flurry of deals is transforming the format business, pushing the big players to get bigger and raising questions about their impact on the future of the industry.

By George Winslow In recent years, many of the world’s major format companies have been acting as if they’re playing a real-life adaptation of Monopoly in which the various players race around the globe trying to buy up as many local production companies and big formats as possible.

Just this summer, Zodiak Entertainment announced it would acquire RDF Media, creating a global powerhouse with production companies in more than 20 territories and annual sales exceeding €500 million ($661 million). And this deal is only the most recent example of rapid consolidation in the format industry, a development that has major implications for the future of the business and the way broadcasters and producers acquire and develop new shows.

Only five or six years ago, there were really only three companies—FremantleMedia, Endemol and Sony Pictures Television—that owned local production companies in many of the major North American, European, Asian and Latin American territories. Since then, however, a number of companies—notably Zodiak, Banijay Entertainment, Shine Group, ALL3MEDIA and BBC Worldwide—have built up impressive networks of production outfits, while other companies, such as ITV Studios Global Entertainment, have expanded their international presence with additional offices and operations.

The flurry of deals that has reshaped the format business in the last few years is, however, only part of the story, 398

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argues Endemol’s chief commercial officer, Tom Toumazis.

“On one hand, you see consolidation, but on the other hand, you’re also seeing major companies like Warner Bros. making statements that they want to get into the business,” he says. “A lot of the Hollywood studios are seeing the importance of being in local production. It’s not just consolidation. It’s new entrants as well as consolidation.”

Indeed, Warner Bros. announced this summer its acquisition of a majority stake in the U.K.-based Shed Media, producer of hit formats like Who Do You Think You Are?.

One major impetus for consolidation has been defensive— the need to lock up a secure flow of new formats. “Consolidation has impacted us in the sense that we can’t represent some of the shows we might have wanted to represent,” because the creators have sold their companies to rival format players, says FremantleMedia Group’s COO, Gary Carter.

So far, the impact of these deals has been quite minimal, Carter stresses, thanks to the large supply of ideas that FremantleMedia gets from the production companies it owns in 22 territories and their ongoing success in finding formats from independent producers and broadcasters.

Pointing to recent successful formats like Got Talent and Hole in the Wall, as well as the ongoing popularity of formats like Idols, Carter says that “the returns on our investments in the open market on new formats have continued to be very, very strong and we have a very good network 10/10

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that extends into markets like Japan, where we acquired the hit format Hole in the Wall from Fuji.”

Still, worries about having a secure supply of ideas from top creative talent were cited by several executives as a major factor in their company’s recent expansion.

“Five years ago, there were a lot of people that I was talking to about acquiring formats that I can’t talk to any more because of consolidation,” reports Barnaby Shingleton, the head of light entertainment acquisitions at RDF Rights.

This is a particularly acute problem for companies looking to acquire new big prime-time studio formats. “If you are [a broadcaster] looking for one of the big studio-based entertainment shows, you have to go to one of the big companies and you probably have to have one of those companies make it for you as well,” Shingleton adds. For a format company, “it means you have to look a lot more at what is being developed internally because you can’t rely on the external market [for those kinds of formats].”

FILLING THE GAPS

The importance of having a network of production companies to develop new hit formats is one of the key rationales for the recent expansion of Banijay Entertainment.

Created in 2008, with the backing of such private investors as the Agnelli family (Fiat), the De Agostini family, Jean-Paul Bize (AMS Industries) and Bernard Arnault (LVMH), the company quickly expanded with a slew of deals, acquiring such companies as Brainpool in Germany, Nordisk in Denmark, Zig Zag Productions in the U.K. and Bunim-Murray in the U.S. and setting up Angel City Factory in the U.S. The company now has almost 20 local production companies in Europe and the U.S. “Some companies like Endemol and FremantleMedia basically established their power in the market because they were smart enough and lucky enough to come up with three or four big, big formats,” says François de Brugada, the executive VP of creative and commercial affairs at Banijay Entertainment. “We are betting on the fact that by accumulating the internal creativity and selecting the right people we will be able to come up with a couple of easy, powerful formats that travel well. If you are able to produce and sell those formats in your companies—that is how you develop your business in a big way.”

Having a presence in major territories is not only important for developing new ideas. It is also crucial for the launch of new hit formats because broadcasters are much more likely to acquire formats that have already been successful in a large market such as the U.K. or the U.S. “Once a format has been successful for one broadcaster, it is naturally easier to pitch to international clients, so our focus is to create a U.K. success that can be emulated internationally,” notes Tobi de Graaff, the director of global television distribution at ITV Studios Global Entertainment, which now has several production offices outside the U.K. “And this has a snowball effect—we find that the more 10/10

local versions we produce, the greater the interest becomes.” Come Dine with Me, for instance, was first broadcast on Channel 4 in the U.K. in 2005 and has since been produced in more than 20 territories.

Not surprisingly, the push to fill gaps in a company’s geographical reach has prompted a number of deals, including the recent merger between RDF and Zodiak. Ilan Astrug, the head of format acquisitions at Zodiak Entertainment, notes that in 2007, the Italian publishing company De Agostini began buying media assets, acquiring the Magnolia Group in Italy and Spain, the Marathon Group in France, and then in 2008 snapping up Zodiak Television, which owned a significant format library and had operations and production companies in the Nordic territories, Benelux, Poland, Russia, India and Latin America.

“Basically the strategy was to create one of the biggest production groups,” Astrug says.

More recently, the acquisition of RDF adds the U.S. and the U.K. to the company’s global reach. Shingleton notes, “What is great about this particular merger is that we fit together so well in so many areas. It gives RDF the international clout World Screen

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Talent powerhouse: With a network of production companies in 20-plus territories, FremantleMedia has been able to adapt formats like Idols in multiple markets worldwide, including the Czech Republic.

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RDF’s Shingleton believes the current economic climate is making broadcasters more cautious, which plays into the hands of larger companies with large catalogues of proven formats and a reputation for producing high-quality shows.

“This climate rewards big companies and penalizes small ones,” he adds.

Opinion remains divided on whether the pace of deals will continue, with some companies clearly in the acquisition mode and others taking a wait-andsee attitude.

THE NEXT STAGE

New home: RDF, home to the British and American hit Wife Swap, was recently snapped up

by Zodiak.

we lacked and it filled Zodiak’s lack of having a stronger position in the U.K. and the U.S. It is really a perfect match.”

While deep recessions usually slow or stop the pace of deals, a major recession in the television industry has actually seemed to encourage consolidation in the last two years, in part as a way to deal with a difficult broadcast TV business and stagnant programming budgets.

“If you bring a show to air in Holland, you have to cover about half the budget and if you bring a show to broadcasters in Sweden, don’t expect them to pay for all of it,” says Karoline Spodsberg, the managing director at Banijay International, the distribution arm of Banijay Entertainment. “The notion [that a broadcaster will pay] 100 percent of a show’s budget is starting to become history.”

While this has put pressure on profit margins, it also gives larger format players a significant advantage because their global network allows them to cut costs and develop new sources of revenue, several executives claim.

ECONOMIES OF SCALE

“Our scale gives us a better chance for investing for the long term,” says Endemol’s Toumazis. “When we look at a format, we don’t just look at recovering our investment [in a program] in one territory.”

Endemol, for example, has been championing the use of production hubs and centralized production as a way to cut costs. As part of that strategy it has built a massive studio in Argentina with sets for such formats as 101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow.

“By using one production set and flying in people from different countries we can offer economies of scale and make it possible to create a huge show that is more affordable,” Toumazis explains.

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Banijay’s de Brugada notes that “we are almost at the end of the first step of our expansion, which was to cover Europe and the U.S.” Next year, however, the company will be starting a second phase of expansion, when it will begin to focus on Asia and Latin America. In those markets, however, it may look for strategic alliances with local companies rather than outright acquisitions.

By contrast, FremantleMedia seems more focused on expanding existing operations rather than acquiring more firms to increase its large network of production companies in 22 countries and regional offices in 11 territories.

“We are always thinking about the right size of this network and my answer today to that question could change tomorrow with the market conditions,” says FremantleMedia’s Carter.

“But for the moment we are not focused on network growth.

We have a network with huge assets. The question is really what we do with it.”

One important initiative for FremantleMedia and all the big players remains the development of new formats. To encourage creativity, the company has regular meetings between executives at its various local production outfits and hosts an annual conference that brings together all its talent.

It has also expanded its development units from two to seven in recent years and it has worked to bring formats to the market faster and more efficiently.

Toumazis notes that Endemol has pushed to maximize the potential of its existing network, which includes more than 80 companies in 26 countries, through acquisitions and the launch of new businesses. “Margins are under pressure for everyone and we have to look at every opportunity to see how we can capture as much value as possible,” Toumazis explains.

At Banijay, de Brugada stresses the importance of fostering creativity with a decentralized operation that will encourage their local companies to be entrepreneurial and react quickly to local market conditions. On the distribution side of the company, Spodsberg emphasizes the need to attract top-notch independents.

“Even after all this consolation there are still very strong creative spirits around the world who are [making] smart formats. Working closely with them is an important part of our future. At the end of the day it is all about that creativity,” Spodsberg says.

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The Consolidation Game:

Will the

Small Survive?

Undaunted by the behemoths of the format industry, small and mid-sized format companies are finding numerous successful ways of doing business.

By George Winslow Last September, when Media Entertainment Group’s (MEG) CEO, Peter Greén, decided to get back into the format business, the idea of launching a new format company seemed questionable. Greén had played a pioneering role in the format business during the late 1980s and 1990s, but he would be returning to the business at a time when the television industry was racked by the worst recession in its history and the format business had become much more competitive.

How could a small, new company survive in a landscape increasingly dominated by a handful of global giants that owned production companies all around the world?

Very well, it seems. Since its soft launch at NATPE 2010 and formal debut at MIPTV, MEG Formats is already enjoying some early successes by laboriously ferreting out new ideas and formats from emerging markets and companies that some of the bigger players might ignore.

“We’ve just taken three formats from Romania, which wasn’t on the map for formats a year ago [and seen considerable interest in one of them, Extreme Musical Chairs],” explains Sarah Coursey, the VP of MEG Formats.“After just a few meetings in London, we have a big European channel and one of the biggest players in the [format industry] interested in deals.”

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Similar stories can be heard from other executives at smaller and mid-sized format companies.While smaller players face some serious challenges in their efforts to compete with the huge multinational format players like Endemol and FremantleMedia, these executives report that small and mid-sized players are not only surviving—in many cases they’re thriving.

“We see there is room in the format business for both these big corporations as well as small boutique companies that move quickly and can bring different types of ideas and solutions to the market,” notes Avi Armoza, the founder and CEO of Armoza Formats.

Armoza adds that in a very short period of time his company has “been able to conclude more than 16 deals in major territories for one of our newer formats, The Frame, which some of our clients have described as the next big prime-time reality show, and hopefully by winter it will start airing in a few of them.”

One key advantage for Armoza, and other smaller players, has been their ability to find ideas that stand out from the crowd.

Global Agency, for example, attended its first MIPCOM four years ago with just one format from Turkey—a market that was not known at the time for exporting formats—and has since found success in specializing in controversial formats. Its 10/10

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One problem is that consolidation has cut off some sources for new formats.

“We’ve lost a couple of suppliers [of formats] when they were suddenly swallowed up by one of the larger players,” notes Hans Spielthenner, the CEO and co-founder of ohm:tv.

A WELL OF IDEAS

Taking aim: Sparks Network incorporates member companies from around the world, including Ay Yapim of Turkey, which brought the drama Ezel to the catalogue.

But Spielthenner and others stress that in many other ways, consolidation has proved to be a blessing because some well-known producers may leave after the company is sold and then turn to a company like ohm:tv to sell their ideas.“Something that we initially thought could make it more difficult to find new ideas has not really harmed us,” Spielthenner says.

In addition, broadcasters seem keen on preserving alternative sources of supply and creativity. “The broadcasters in general are wary of only working with the big conglomerates,” notes Söderlund at Sparks Network.

Several distributors also argue that consolidation has actually made it easier for them to pitch ideas. “Buyers who used to have appointments with five independent production companies at Cannes now have one appointment with one big company so it has become easier for us to see them,” says ohm:tv’s Spielthenner.

In fact, smaller distributors are pitching their size as an advantage when talking to producers about acquiring distribution rights to new formats. “We’ve had producers approach us because they felt their formats were getting lost in the large catalogue of a larger distributor,” reports MEG Formats’ Coursey.“They like the fact that we can provide the focus and attention their idea really deserves.”

catalogue includes Perfect Bride, where the mother chooses the best bride for her son; Rent-a-Mama, which has couples competing to have a surrogate mother provide them with a baby; and Choosing My Religion, which features religious leaders trying to convince ten atheists to adopt either Christianity, Islam, Judaism or Buddhism. “If you want to stand out from hundreds of other companies you have to be different,” says Izzet Pinto, Global Agency’s CEO. In the hunt for new ideas, Global Agency and successful smaller shops are often willing to cull through mountains of ideas and explore emerging markets. “Out of 150 or 200 ideas we might find only one or two interesting ones so you have to do your research and be passionate about your job,” says Pinto.

Many of these mid-sized and smaller companies also bring years of experience to the table. Strix, for example, was an early player in the format business. It was the first company to produce Survivor and now has a network of production companies in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Holland that continue to supply its distribution arm with a stream of fresh ideas.

“We are known as a very dependable supplier of reality formats throughout the world such as The Farm and The Bar,” notes Mia Engström, the head of international sales at Strix Television.

“We’ve been fortunate to have a great back catalogue of proven formats that have been very valuable during the recession, and we are a small organization that can move very quickly.”

That isn’t to say these companies aren’t facing some serious challenges. Sparks Network, which has 17 leading independent producers as members and handles distribution of formats created by a number of other players, provides another example of a successful mid-sized format company but its president, Nicola Söderlund readily admits, “the mid-sized companies are [being] squeezed [by the big players.] The big companies with the big investment capabilities can dominate the [market for the] big commissions. Very often a Extreme challenges: Israel-based Armoza Formats has found success with shows [big global format] needs a big investment to fly.” that incorporate game-show elements, including Extreme Wedding Album.

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And, for all the talk about the difficulties faced by smaller independent companies that must battle big multinational corporations, perhaps an even more important dynamic has been the development of widespread alliances between large and smaller players, in part because these boutique and mid-sized operations have proved so successful in digging up new ideas.

“Strange as it may seem, most of these production companies that are part of these massive groups are still looking for ideas outside of their own catalogues,” says ohm:tv’s Spielthenner. “We have regular meetings with companies that are part of Endemol, FremantleMedia and all the big ones.”

Such alliances are also important for smaller players.

“There are certain formats [such as the lavishly produced expensive studio shows] that need a big distributor,” admits MEG Formats’ Coursey.That’s why MEG is talking to big production companies about Extreme Musical Chairs. “They have done a lot of studio shows and have the ability to do a big show like that.”

IN THE FAMILY

A group effort: Among the crop of formats from Turkey’s Global Agency is The Big Challenge.

A few mid-sized players like Strix can draw on their own production companies for production expertise and new ideas. In fact, Strix is one of the few format companies that only sells formats developed and produced by its production companies. “We see it as a competitive edge,” noted Strix’s Engström. “It really makes us very close to our products and gives us an enormous amount of knowledge and experience in producing them. We think that has been very important in our international success.”

Most smaller players can’t afford to acquire their own network of production companies. But, to gain some of the advantages of owning a production arm, some of the smaller players are looking to forge strategic alliances with production companies.

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Global Agency, for example, has already set up a strategic alliance with the Indian production company Miditech, which has produced local versions of such hit formats as Deal or No Deal and Got Talent. As part of the alliance, Miditech will became the exclusive distributor and producer of the Global Agency catalogue in India and Global Agency will represent their format Sarkaar ki Duniya as The King’s Jungle in international markets, with the idea that the shows would be produced in India by Miditech.“We want networks to send their cast and team to India and produce the series in India,” says Pinto at Global Agency.

PLATFORM FOR SUCCESS

While the biggest format companies have the financial resources to invest heavily in newer technologies and develop the expensive online, mobile, IPTV and VOD applications for a hit series like Idols, several companies see their expertise in online, broadband, mobile and other digital technologies as a competitive edge.

For example, Armoza Formats’ The Frame has a number of multiplatform features and the company’s founder stresses the importance of these technologies in the way they approach the format business. “We are focusing on what we call a strong content brand,” Armoza says. “Once we have that brand we want to have the ability to generate income from all platforms and to help our clients reach viewers wherever they are. We think that coming out of Israel gives us a real advantage here because there are quite a number of start-up and technology companies that we can work with and we’ve been focusing on teaming up with those companies to develop our content.”

This tech expertise is particularly important for ohm:tv, which has been involved in newer technologies since it was founded eight years ago and has developed a number of mobile and broadband channels for telcos.

By offering turn-key solutions for the deployment of mobile and broadband content, ohm:tv can also get revenues from consulting and technical services, Spielthenner says, making it possible to profitably develop digital projects that would be difficult to fund simply from licensing fees or advertising. “The expertise we’ve gathered from online and digital distribution gives us an advantage that others can’t really offer,” he says.

Smaller companies are also better equipped to deal with the limited budgets being offered by emerging digital terrestrial, cable and satellite channels. Spielthenner explains, “We never did the massive prime-time Survivor-type shows so the whole change in the market and the development of these new channels is really benefiting us.”

More importantly, these entrepreneurs have a passion for their ideas and shows that some of the majors may lack. “The advantage of commissioning from an indie [is that] people often own the company and every commission is extremely important,” he says. “They will do their utmost to make the show into a success. The staffs at the bigger corporations work for hire and don’t have the same passion.”

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Format Master

Talpa Media’s John de Mol After reaching extraordinary levels of success at Endemol, a company he founded with Joop van den Ende and other investors in 1994, John de Mol found himself in an executive position he didn’t quite cherish. In his heart he is a creator and producer, feeling most at home in the studio, not sitting behind a desk shuffling profitand-loss sheets. So in 2005, de Mol set up Talpa Media Group, where he can once again immerse himself in what he does best— creating hit formats. De Mol talks about running a format company in today’s competitive marketplace.

By Anna Carugati

TV FORMATS: Over the last year or so, Talpa Media Group

has established several joint ventures or programming alliances with other companies. Why have these been important and what’s been the strategy behind them?

DE MOL: The strategy is basically the same one I had when we set up Endemol. My philosophy about this business—and I believe in it so much that I even have it printed on the back of my business card—is, it’s all about the content. I don’t care what new technological developments we are talking about, or whether it is traditional broadcasting networks or cable or satellite channels or Internet platforms, it’s all about the content.

The only reason you switch on a device, whatever the device is, it’s because you want to see content you want to have. I consider myself a content driver. If you want to create new content nowadays after 60 years of traditional television, it takes a lot of money, a lot of people and a lot of brains to come up with, in a structural way, a flow of new ideas and new formats. In the way I set up Talpa, the creative unit is the heart of the company.That’s where 408

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it all starts—with new ideas. We spend a lot of money creating new ideas. We have 24 people on the payroll in Holland alone who are working daily on new ideas and new formats. If we have an idea we think is worthwhile, we test it, we make pilots, we throw it away and start over, and that is quite a heavy investment.

And the only way you can make a healthy investment is if you have a good infrastructure for international exportation. So doing it on a case-by-case basis is not the right way.

Fifteen years ago with Endemol, we acquired companies and bought stakes in companies and added them to the Endemol Group country by country. So when I set up Talpa Content, I started looking in the same direction. I was looking at all the important markets where I wanted to be present and found out that in nine out of ten markets, there were no opportunities to buy the right companies anymore because they were just not there.Which is also something that proves how valuable a company like Endemol is because it is almost impossible to copy it.

So with Talpa, I decided to go for a different model. Instead of buying companies or buying stakes in companies, I said, why make it difficult? There are still a lot of good production companies.They are just not for sale or they are already part of a bigger group. So country by country I looked at the markets where I wanted to be present and picked the production companies I considered to be ideal partners for each territory. I didn’t have to buy a stake in the company. All I had to do was propose a joint venture, which [gave] them the opportunity to exclusively represent the Talpa formats in their market, create a joint venture, produce together for that market and split the profits. The moment we changed to that model, in seven or eight months we had joint ventures in a dozen countries.

TV FORMATS: The U.S. studios got into the format business very late, and now they are aggressively trying to catch up. Do you think they will encounter problems establishing networks of local production companies like Endemol and FremantleMedia have?

DE MOL: I don’t think there is any difference [between the studios’ attempts] and when we were checking out all the markets in detail and came to the conclusion that the right companies were not for sale anymore. Because Endemol is not the only international production company, there are also FremantleMedia, Zodiak Entertainment and Banijay Entertainment. There are three or four, not all the same size, but there are a few. Even if you are Warner Bros. or Disney, if the production companies are not available, then they’re not there for the studios either.

TV FORMATS: Some format companies feel they must have

10 or 12 new formats to present to buyers at MIPTV or MIPCOM. Do you share that view?

DE MOL: My slogan is it’s more about quality than quantity, so I don’t think the numbers count. Quality and originality count and if there is a market where you are lucky enough to have six, seven or eight new shows, which in our case is not an exception, you could even consider the question: Do you want to pitch them all at one market or do you want to hold back a few? For MIPCOM I think we will probably only present 50 percent of the formats that are in production, because for some of the formats it is too early. If a show starts in Holland in September, three weeks later at MIPCOM it’s too early to bring that show. I’d rather wait eight or nine weeks to make sure we have a success and then, to be quite honest, you don’t need MIPCOM anymore to establish quick sales in 20 territories.

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From Eco-Challenge to Survivor, The Apprentice and, most recently, Shark Tank, Mark Burnett’s formula for combining high-quality production values with a compelling contest has won viewers around the world. He talks about some of the techniques that have made his shows so successful.

Captivating Storytelling

Mark Burnett

where the next great idea is coming from and everybody wants to hear good ideas—it’s the collective consciousness of saying, “OK, we all agree this sounds great.” Some programs are derivative. Weekly competition elimination shows are derivative. But then great new shows come along. Undercover Boss is a great new show. Shark Tank was a great new show and then there are a lot of shows that have been on the air a long time.We have two cycles of The Apprentice per year and two cycles of Survivor per year. The Bachelor is doing fantastically. A lot of shows have been on for a long time and are doing very, very well.

By Anna Carugati TV FORMATS: On television, people’s behavior can change

just because the camera is rolling. How do you get natural behavior from contestants on your shows even with the cameras rolling?

BURNETT: The main reason that there are natural behaviors on camera is because the contestants are mainly in a competitive environment and they are more worried about beating each other and dealing with so much in such a short time. On Survivor, within about an hour they have forgotten about the cameras because a) they have to build shelter and find food, b) they are learning how to deal with each other and c) they are trying not to get voted off the show. On The Apprentice, they’ve got Donald Trump to deal with and they’re going around New York City trying to win the tasks they are given. They are so busy, they don’t have time for grandstanding, they just have time to try to win and that overrides hamming for the cameras. Clearly, there are shows in nonfiction TV where there does seem to be a lot of hamming. But some of those shows, where people are very aware of the cameras, seem to be getting good ratings.

TV FORMATS: Are there any lessons that you learned when you first started out in television that you still use today to help you navigate the world of network television or while pitching shows?

BURNETT: The one thing to remember for me and I think for anybody is if you need to be 100-percent sure and have everything lined up perfectly, the show won’t happen. Everything I’ve done I’ve not been completely certain of. Maybe 50 percent or 60 percent of [the elements of a show] were lined up and I just jumped in and figured it out as I went along. If you need it all figured out and you want to be certain it’s going to be OK, you’ll never start anything.

TV FORMATS: How do you strike a balance between obser-

vational documentary style and building the narrative of a show in the editing room?

BURNETT: All the good shows, whether it’s The Bachelor, Hell’s Kitchen, The Biggest Loser, Survivor or The Apprentice, as well as Your OWN Show, the Oprah Winfrey Network show I’m doing, start the editing process knowing the outcome—it’s already been shot. So they edit the show backwards, because clearly someone who is going to get eliminated in the show needs to have some sort of story in the first act.

Everybody has a story, we can cut the show 20 different ways depending on who we focus on, but clearly we need to choose a few characters per episode, because you can’t be telling the stories of 20 people in one episode. You need to focus down on manageable story lines the audience can follow along and enjoy.

TV FORMATS: Compared to the days when Survivor, Big Brother and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which were really the granddaddies of what came to be called reality television, first aired, is it easier today to convince a broadcaster to try something new, to take a risk on a new idea?

BURNETT: I really don’t know the answer to that question.

I just try to talk to cable channels and broadcasters about shows that I think would be compelling because I’m obviously committed to them. I don’t know if they are any riskier or less risky than other projects. In the end, who knows 10/10

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Formed just two years ago in France, Banijay Entertainment has firmly established itself as one of the powerhouses of the global format business. Led by former Endemol France chief Stéphane Courbit, together with vice chairman Guillaume de Vergès and executive VP, François de Brugada, Banijay now spans 14 companies in ten territories. TV Formats spoke with de Brugada, who oversees creative and commercial affairs, about the company’s rapid growth path and its plans for the future.

By Mansha Daswani

TV FORMATS: Banijay has very quickly become a major

player in the format business. How did you achieve this?

DE BRUGADA: We started with Stéphane [Courbit, Banijay’s

chairman] very early in 2008. We had the checkbook that our shareholders gave us and a PowerPoint presentation. Two years later we are already a pretty big company with 14 companies in ten different territories.The financial backing of the company was strong in the sense that we had no bank, only private investment from four different parties. So even though the period was

Fostering a Creative Network

Banijay’s François de Brugada

not the easiest, we could actually carry out our plans without any problems.The second thing is, Stéphane himself had been a producer for a long time. He sold his company [ASP/Case Production] to Endemol, and he became chairman of Endemol France and grew the company substantially. Stéphane’s experience is crucial because as a producer he has been an independent as well as part of a large organization, so he knows what’s great about being part of a global organization and sometimes what’s not so good. When we started, lots of creative local companies everywhere in the world were thinking, maybe one day I should be part of an international group.The way we were building the company was a very convincing story for the people who ended up deciding to sell their company to Banijay.

TV FORMATS: What is the next phase of your growth strategy?

DE BRUGADA: The real second phase should start next year,

when we will move into two key regions for us, South America and Asia. It might be an acquisition, it might not be.We are taking our time, we are understanding the market and assessing what would be the smartest way to move into those territories.

TV FORMATS: What is it you look for when you are thinking about acquiring or investing in a company?

DE BRUGADA: First, creativity.The most powerful companies on the market—Endemol and FremantleMedia—have achieved leadership by coming up with four or five great blockbusters that are on TV everywhere in the world, sometimes 40 or 50 territories, and those formats are repeated and repeated. Once you’ve got a portfolio like that, you don’t have to come up with one idea of that kind every year because [you have] a long-lasting reservoir.We’ve got a great catalogue already, but we don’t have one of those big, big [formats]. Anytime we consider a partnership or an acquisition, we first think, Could they come up with one of the big ones? Our second criterion is entrepreneurship.We often call ourselves a “confederation of entrepreneurs.” As an organization, we’ll never be huge at the center. Even though we are in ten territories with a turnover of around €300 million ($380 million), we are only 25 people at the holding level and more than half of those are working on the program side helping the creative process for our local affiliates.We really trust our local companies to do the job.The central office should remain big enough to give all the support that each of the local companies can expect from an international group, but should also remain relatively light and small.We like our companies to take initiative.

If they are wrong, they correct it. If they are right, we let everyone know in the company.We make sure everybody has access to any piece of creativity—a new idea for a show, a new way of producing a show, a new way of dealing with talent, anything that we believe is smart and is a local proven success—right away.

TV FORMATS: What are your greatest challenges over the next one to two years, and your greatest opportunities?

DE BRUGADA: Well, I think for both challenges and opportunities, it’s almost the same answer. We can keep on growing but the big difference will be, [can we] come up with one, two, or three worldwide blockbusters? That’s our key challenge, to make sure we gather more creative people, put them in the best conditions to work in—planting as many seeds as possible, taking care of each of those seeds, looking for the better-looking sprouts and making sure we find the best ground for [that] little sprout to become a success.

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