FOR_411_COVER_FOR_1008_COVER 3/17/11 10:21 AM Page 2
Production Models Talent Formats SPT’s Kees Abrahams Red Arrow’s Jan Frouman Stephen Lambert www.tvformats.ws
MIPTV EDITION THE MAGAZINE FOR THE FORMAT BUSINESS
APRIL 2011
FOR_0411_SPARKS_Layout 1 3/14/11 3:06 PM Page 1
FOR_0411_SPARKS_Layout 1 3/14/11 3:07 PM Page 2
FOR_0411_GLOBALAGENCY_Layout 1 3/14/11 2:58 PM Page 1
FOR_0411_GLOBALAGENCY_Layout 1 3/14/11 2:59 PM Page 2
FOR_411_ARMOZA SPREAD__1006_SOLID 3/15/11 11:07 AM Page 1
FOR_411_ARMOZA SPREAD__1006_SOLID 3/15/11 11:08 AM Page 2
FOR_411_UPFRONT_EUR_1006_ELLENDER 3/17/11 10:08 AM Page 1
08
TV FORMATS
Armoza Formats www.armozaformats.com • Still Standing • TLV • With This Ring • Delicious • A Star Is Reborn
For this MIPTV, Armoza Formats has developed programming “according to what we view as today’s current trends and the broadcasters’ programming needs for 2011,” says CEO Avi Armoza. This includes the prime-time game show Still Standing, which has been picked up by NBC in the U.S. Following the success of Connected, which debuted at MIPCOM, Armoza is highlighting four new factualentertainment formats. These are With This Ring, an indepth study of marriage; A Star Is Reborn, a docu-reality show about celebrity has-beens trying to get back on top; TLV, featuring young professionals trying to conquer the big city; and the kids’ cooking format Delicious. “And of course we’re bringing with us two new scripted formats,” Armoza says, pointing to Danny Hollywood and Pick-Up. “Israel’s TV industry is so creative, and the dramas that emerge from the market are provocative and daring and extremely well conceived.”
Delicious
“ The format industry continues to grow at an incredible rate, and we’re very happy to contribute to its growth and to the innovation in today’s international market.
”
—Avi Armoza
Banijay International www.banijayinternational.com • Try Sleeping in My Bed • One Night Stand • Back on the Job • Night Life • Honey, Pack the Bags!
Banijay International has been working hard to get the message out to clients that “we are at the forefront of the global content business and an essential stop in their busy market diary,” says Karoline Spodsberg, managing director. The company has a range of new formats to offer its clients as well, each with its own set of strengths. “Both Try Sleeping in My Bed and Night Life have already aired to excellent ratings,” says Spodsberg. “One Night Stand puts a fresh, modern spin on the dating format...and is a great cost-effective choice for broadcasters targeting a young audience. Back on the Job taps into our fascination with celebrities and how they live their lives when they are just being ‘ordinary people,’ humbling them and bringing fascinating insight into their early lives and upbringings.” There’s also the game show Honey, Pack the Bags!
IN THIS ISSUE
One Night Stand
“ With an expanded sales team and diverse slate of titles, we are confident we will deliver strong sales at the market.
”
—Karoline Spodsberg
Taking the Plunge Production hubs are among the models being used by the format majors
18
Got the Talent Dancing and singing talent shows are all the rage
26
Interviews SPT’s Kees Abrahams Red Arrow’s Jan Frouman Stephen Lambert Profile Banijay’s Sold!
32 34 36 38
FOR_0411_RIVEGAUCHE_Layout 1 3/14/11 2:51 PM Page 1
FOR_411_UPFRONT_EUR_1006_ELLENDER 3/17/11 2:09 PM Page 2
10
TV FORMATS
Fox LOOK www.foxlook.com • The Glee Project • World’s Most Wanted • Mobbed • Slam! • The Game of Life
Ricardo Seguin Guise
Publisher Anna Carugati
Editor Mansha Daswani
Executive Editor Kristin Brzoznowski
Managing Editor Morgan Grice
Editorial Assistant Matthew Rippetoe Lauren Uda
Production and Design Directors
While Fox LOOK has announced it is restructuring, it will wrap up deals on its slate of non-scripted reality series from the FOX stable, Fox-owned channels and Hasbro Studios. Included in the lineup is The Glee Project, in which people compete for a spot on the third season of FOX’s hit primetime show Glee.World’s Most Wanted is also based on a FOX hit.The prime-time show Mobbed, which showcases the flashmob phenomenon, is also in the mix. From Fuel TV, Fox LOOK has Slam!, featuring a variety of sports crashes. From Hasbro comesThe Game of Life, based on the board game. David Lyle, the president, said in a memo to Fox LOOK staff:“After thorough evaluation and much discussion within Fox Networks Group, we’ve decided there will be better ways for the group to realize the value of our unscripted programming internationally.”
“ These titles reflect the rich diversity of Fox LOOK’s catalogue.
”
The Glee Project
—David Lyle
Simon Weaver
Online Director Phyllis Q. Busell
Art Director Cesar Suero
Sales and Marketing Manager Terry Acunzo
FremantleMedia www.fremantlemedia.com
Business Affairs Manager Alyssa Menard
Sales and Marketing Coordinator
Ricardo Seguin Guise
President Anna Carugati
Executive VP and Group Editorial Director Mansha Daswani
VP of Strategic Development TV Formats © 2011 WSN INC. 1123 Broadway, #1207 New York, NY 10010 Phone: (212) 924-7620 Fax: (212) 924-6940 Website:
www.tvformats.ws
Dream School
• Dream School • Four Rooms • Walk the Line • Total Blackout • Do the Right Thing
FremantleMedia has a roster of global megahits such as The X Factor and Idols, as well as two of the most successful traveling formats of 2010, Got Talent and Take Me Out. New to the slate is Dream School, in which leading figures work with pupils who have failed in the traditional school system. Four Rooms follows ordinary salespeople who are given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to sell precious possessions. Walk the Line is part reality series, part game show, while Total Blackout is a game show that takes place in complete darkness. Do the Right Thing has contestants competing for the opportunity to change the world for the better. “MIPCOM proved that broadcasters are buying again, and with the range of quality programming that we are bringing to MIPTV we’re confident that we’ll continue to see very strong demand,” says Rob Clark, the president of worldwide entertainment.
“ FremantleMedia has a broad-based slate of proven hits and fresh original formats, and I am confident that this will be a very successful market for us.
”
—Rob Clark
Get daily news on the formats business by visiting www.tvformats.ws
FOR_411_SONY IMPOSSIBLE_Layout 1 3/15/11 11:09 AM Page 1
FOR_411_UPFRONT_EUR_1006_ELLENDER 3/17/11 10:09 AM Page 4
12
TV FORMATS
Global Agency www.theglobalagency.tv • My Ex Is My Witness! • Shopping Monsters • The King’s Jungle • Perfect Bride • Forbidden Love
Generating “buzz” has been a key focus for the Turkish outfit Global Agency since its inception. With a strong content lineup and a dedicated sales team, the company has seen tremendous growth in the past five years. “Global Agency believes in creativity without limits, but we are very selective about the formats we take on,” says Izzet Pinto, CEO. “We make sure that only the best projects with the highest chance of commercial success are presented to our buyers.” For this market, these titles include Perfect Bride and Forbidden Love. “Our dating format My Ex Is My Witness! is in the spotlight now as it heads into production in the U.S.,” adds Pinto. “The King’s Jungle is a great adventure format that combines strategy and endurance. Our latest addition is Shopping Monsters, which will offer buyers a really fresh approach to a perennial theme.”
My Ex Is My Witness!
“ Global Agency has earned its reputation by representing highly original formats, and we continue to add to our portfolio.
”
—Izzet Pinto
ITV Studios Global Entertainment www.itvstudios.com • Popstar to Operastar • The Chase • Four Weddings • Coach Trip • Perfection
The demand for formats that have been proven hits is always strong, and ITV Studios Global Entertainment has a roster of these to offer up. “When broadcasters acquire our formats, they are not just buying into innovative ideas, they are gaining a proven hit, often in multiple territories, and the very significant benefit of our vast experience in producing these shows,” says Tobias de Graaff, the director of global television distribution. For MIPTV, de Graaff is highlighting the titles The Chase and Perfection. He is also keen to promote the strengths of Coach Trip, a travel-meets-reality show featuring seven pairs of strangers traveling together on a bus tour, and Four Weddings, a competition between brides who are planning four extremely different nuptials. Popstar to Operastar, an ITV Studios production for ITV1, challenges brave pop stars to enter a new musical genre in the hopes of becoming a bona fide opera sensation.“As ever we are expecting a busy and very productive market,” de Graaff remarks.
Coach Trip
“Our strength as a distributor is delivering well-established entertainment and factualentertainment formats which offer broadcasters content with longevity.
”
—Tobias de Graaff
278
World Screen
4/11
FOR_411_SONY COVER ME_Layout 1 3/15/11 11:10 AM Page 1
FOR_411_UPFRONT_EUR_1006_ELLENDER 3/17/11 10:10 AM Page 6
14
TV FORMATS
Leopard International www.leopardinternational.com My Life: Stammer School
• Trade Your Way to the USA • Freshly Squeezed • My Life: Stammer School • Cash in the Attic
Following the enormous success of The King’s Speech, winner of this year’s Academy Award for best picture, Leopard is bringing to the market My Life: Stammer School. Katie Stephenson, an international sales executive, says the half-hour production is a “timely and engaging documentary, which will appeal across international markets.” Leopard is also bringing the brand-new show Trade Your Way to the USA, which recently premiered to strong ratings on CBBC. “The program’s central theme of the importance of learning business skills in today’s world offers universal appeal,” Stephenson notes. A returning hit in Leopard’s catalogue, Cash in the Attic, continues to attract global interest and is currently airing in 167 countries. “Its relevance is increased today in this era of global austerity,” adds Stephenson. The slate is rounded out with the youth format Freshly Squeezed, which features interviews with celebrities and live performances from some of today’s hottest acts.
“ We have significantly increased the number of formats and programs in our catalogue, supplementing the Leopard Films production slate by signing a number of third-party deals.
”
—Katie Stephenson
Rive Gauche Television www.rivegauchetelevision.com Cyber Smarts
• Cyber Smarts • Style Diva • Hunch
After having established itself as a supplier of reality programming, Rive Gauche Television is stepping into the formats arena. This effort is being launched with the game shows Cyber Smarts, Style Diva and Hunch. “They are all simple, clear and promotable concepts that will enable our partners to produce low-cost, original programming that targets key demos,” says David Auerbach, the president of Rive Gauche. The company got off to a solid start, with its studio-based game show Hunch getting picked up by Endemol in France. “My goal is to increase awareness for Rive Gauche as a supplier of original and innovative formats,” says Auerbach. “While the company may be a relative newcomer to the formats business, I’m fortunate to have been involved in creating a wide variety of successful formats during my 17 years with Warner Bros.” His expectations of MIPTV “are that I will meet some smart commissioning editors, enjoy hearing them laugh when they play our games and close a few deals.”
“ [All our formats] have great cross-platform opportunities built in; there is nothing like them currently on the air.
”
—David Auerbach
280
World Screen
4/11
FOR_411_SONY DRAGON DEN_Layout 1 3/15/11 11:10 AM Page 1
FOR_411_UPFRONT_EUR_1006_ELLENDER 3/17/11 10:11 AM Page 8
16
TV FORMATS
Toac www.toac.tv • Remember When • Snow Rescue • The Million Game • One More in the Family • Twins
Toac is highlighting a number of series from its format catalogue, including the award-winning Remember When, a leading prime-time drama on Spanish TV since 2001. The series is set during the last years of Francoist rule and the transition to democracy in Spain and features original footage of events from those years, focusing on times that are part of the country’s collective memory. Toac will present the format at MIPTV, along with the extreme reality series Snow Rescue, which is based on the story of the Uruguayan rugby team that was stranded in the snowy Andes Mountains and forced to resort to desperate measures to survive. The game-show format The Million Game features three contestants competing for a cash prize by exhibiting their current-affairs and general knowledge. Also on offer will be the docu-reality series One More in the Family and the dating show Twins.
Remember When
Snow Rescue
Sparks Network www.sparksnetwork.com • • • • •
Clash of the Nations Pirates Supermarket Challenge Hide & Seek Just Married
Truly a global operation, Sparks Network harnesses the combined strength of its various member companies from all corners of the globe. Recently, the company set its sights on further expansion in Latin America, Asia and other emerging markets. Nicola Söderlund, president, is also focused on meeting with clients year-round, rather than just at MIPTV or MIPCOM. “MIPTV has become more of a meeting place to get new acquaintances and deepen ongoing relations. And it’s a lot about branding your company. Having said that, at MIPTV you can obviously strike deals and spark interest for new shows.” Söderlund is betting on titles such as Clash of the Nations, Pirates and Supermarket Challenge to spark that interest from buyers in Cannes. There’s also the family entertainment show Hide & Seek and Just Married, which has been a big success in Korea. He says these shows tout original concepts, with appealing storytelling qualities,“and all [have] hit potential.”
Clash of the Nations
“[These] are well-devised, strong formats with originality and appealing storytelling.
”
—Nicola Söderlund
282
World Screen
4/11
FOR_0411_BANIJAY_Layout 1 3/14/11 3:04 PM Page 1
FOR_411_PRODUCTION_MODELS_DOC_0407_NIGHT 3/17/11 3:00 PM Page 2
18
TV FORMATS
Zodiak’s Fort Boyard.
The establishment of production hubs is just one of the models being used by the format majors to efficiently roll out titles across multiple markets. Produced in France by the Zodiak-owned Adventure Line Productions (ALP), Fort Boyard is a “geographically specific format,” Shingleton notes, tied to the structure of the same name off the coast of France. The case is similar with Banijay International’s 71 Degrees North, produced in Norway, where contestants must trek to a location 71 degrees north of the equator. “You can’t buy the format without producing it with us in Norway,” says Karoline Spodsberg, the managing director of Banijay International.“The location is keyed to the format.” DOLLARS AND SENSE
Taking the
The most compelling case for setting up a hub, distributors agree, is if it makes financial sense for both the producer and the broadcaster. Clearly, the types of shows best suited to the productionhub approach are those that require a large, expensive set. “ABC was able to get behind a set being built on the scale needed,” says Toumazis on the initial U.S. deal for Wipeout. “However, there aren’t that many markets that would have delivered the necessary return on that kind of investment. There were a number of territories that wanted the show and were all interested at the same time, so it became clear to us that instead of building what is a capital-intensive structure in three or four territories, we would put all our focus into one location and fly in the contestants and the production crew from everywhere.” Even if a market can afford that initial outlay, Zodiak’s Shingleton says, “Sharing production facilities can help improve margins and lower costs…. Production hubs help maintain or improve production values by amortizing costs across a number of productions.” Zodiak is currently setting up a hub for its new adventure game show, Family Explorer. “You tend to want to do this on big shows with big sets,” Toumazis adds. “It tends to be on properties that we’re pitching to numerous territories across the world at the same time. We want to make sure that when something is working well we can quickly bring in other markets.” For Wipeout, the hub means that broadcasters have all been able to access new obstacle courses that were added to the set as versions have gone into new seasons. The hub approach requires a tremendous level of efficiency, Toumazis says. “When you go there, it’s incredible, you’ve got the Canadian crew coming in, the British crew going out, the Ukrainian crew preparing to land, and each one of them is assigned a certain number of days to produce each episode. Making sure that the set is fully utilized on an ongoing basis is key. The logistics of getting people in and out is one of the things that you’ve really got to get right.” The expertise that is developed when the model is well thought out is a big part of the format package sold to the client, notes Banijay’s Spodsberg. “Nordisk Film TV, which is a Banijay company, has been producing 71 Degrees North for many years, with amazing success year after year. They have more or less almost tried it all; there is no stone unturned in that
e g n Plu ni By Mansha Daswa
Thousands of contestants have suffered through bruised limbs and the public humiliation of being bounced, unflatteringly, off an oversized red ball in the quest for a cash prize on Wipeout. Most walk away no richer than they were when they arrived. But there is a consolation prize: they did score themselves a free trip to Buenos Aires. The Argentinean capital is the home to the international set for the hit Endemol format, with a total of 29 versions having been produced at the central location. “Wipeout is probably our best-known example of a show produced from an international hub,” says Tom Toumazis, the chief commercial officer at Endemol. The attention afforded to it is not surprising, given the pedigree of the show—following its initial rollout on ABC in the U.S., the obstacle-course format has been adapted for the U.K. (BBC), Canada (TVtropolis), Australia (Nine Network) and India (Imagine TV), among others. But Wipeout is certainly not the first format to have used this production model to efficiently produce multiple versions. “We already [use a production hub] with Fort Boyard, which is one of the most successful adventure game shows in the world, and have been doing so since the early 1990s,” says Barnaby Shingleton, the head of entertainment at Zodiak Rights. 284
World Screen
4/11
FOR_411_ITV_Layout 1 3/14/11 3:08 PM Page 1
FOR_411_PRODUCTION_MODELS_DOC_0407_NIGHT 3/17/11 10:07 AM Page 3
20
TV FORMATS
The big picture: SPT is using its network of production companies and a stable of travelling consultants to roll out hit new titles such as Stand Out from the Crowd.
pretty severe, dangerous, scary route that the crew is taking. When a broadcaster and production company fly in with their host, cast and some key creative staff, everything is up and running from day one. They don’t have to do their own learning, they don’t have to make all the mistakes that the local crew have made and corrected! The production will be more effective and the client will have a better chance of hitting the target, getting it right on camera first time round.” The model has worked so well for Banijay, Spodsberg says, that it is evaluating a hub approach for Dilemma, its hit French format that puts its contestants under surveillance in a house for 24 hours a day. JUST CAUSE
“When you’re investing in a centralized hub, you have to be pretty certain that the format has either an economic or a creative need for a centralized hub,” says Rob Clark, the president of worldwide entertainment at FremantleMedia, a company that historically has not made great use of the production-hub concept.“We don’t have a central production hub in a corner of Latin America,” quips Clark. “However, we do make multiple shows on the same set if it’s appropriate.” It was appropriate in one instance for Total Blackout, Clark says, with the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian versions all being produced in Copenhagen. “We had three sales that were made at the same time, three different broadcasters, roughly in the same part of the world,” says Clark. That set, however, would not be used by other broadcasters for their own versions of Total Blackout. “It’s only a studio, it makes no economic sense, no creative sense” to use that hub for other territories. “I’m not anti-hub,” Clark continues, “but if you make the sorts of shows we make at the moment, then it’s pointless having a hub.” FremantleMedia’s big brands, Clark notes, including Idols, Got Talent, The X Factor and The Price Is Right, which require live studio audiences, don’t need a centralized location and, more importantly, would not work with one.“You couldn’t build one set for The X Factor in the whole of Europe.” 286
World Screen
What does make sense for FremantleMedia—indeed, for all the format majors—is the use of flying producers, who are dispatched to sets around the world to make sure that all goes well with a local adaptation. “If you don’t have the same production company making a show then you need a system of best practices and a system of enthusiasm and passion that is passed down the line from the originating producers,” Clark explains. “The flying producers are not policemen. They do not walk round the world with a truncheon or a gun telling people that they can’t do this and they can’t do that. The flying producers fly in during the preproduction stage and do workshops with the people that are making the show, and they try to instill a vision of what that show is. Then they fly out and let the people get on with it. They will come back for the first series day of production.They monitor, they correct things that are going wrong, they advise, they cajole. And then we see the finished version, and we pass on notes; we expect them to be acted on. It’s not a police role, we try to win people over. It’s sort of carrot and stick. There’s an awful lot of carrot and I suppose a little bit of stick. I’m often the big stick!” SHARED LEARNING
At Endemol, Iris Boelhouwer, the managing director of creative operations, oversees what Toumazis calls the “creative support team.This is a very important component of our business. Ultimately, we need to ensure that the integrity and identity of our brands is maintained. These producers play a key role in sharing best practices from around the world. As many of our shows evolve, it’s up to this team to introduce that shared learning in each territory.” Distributors note that flying producers are an integral part of the overall package sold to a production company or broadcaster; a package that also includes bibles, graphics, branding and more.“We want to provide maximum service to our local partners in each place,” says Kees Abrahams, the president of international production at Sony Pictures Television (SPT). “The traveling producers have so much knowledge of the format— they are there to explain what it says in the production bible, 4/11
FOR_0411_TELEVISA_Layout 1 3/17/11 2:10 PM Page 1
FOR_411_PRODUCTION_MODELS_DOC_0407_NIGHT 3/15/11 5:27 PM Page 4
22
TV FORMATS
Winter wonderland: Broadcasters who sign up for Banijay’s 71 Degrees North must film their versions in Norway.
Head first: More than 20 versions of Endemol’s Wipeout have been produced at a central hub in Buenos Aires.
to implement the materials in terms of graphics, music, software, set design, a certain way of directing a show.” In addition to maintaining the integrity of an adaptation, flying producers can sometimes “lead to new adaptations as well,” Abrahams adds. “For example, we have a traveling producer named Rod Taylor who when working with Nine Network in Australia invented a new spin-off of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? called Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Hot Seat. It’s a new, different version that has been traveling to various territories.There’s a lot of creativity in that process.” Zodiak’s Shingleton has found that in markets where local partners do not take full advantage of the input from the format rights-owner, “the success rate of a format is much lower. Production consultants help ensure our shows are produced as well as possible. Sometimes local producers can feel threatened by production consultants, but it is important to remember that our consultants are not there to ‘teach’ producers how to make television shows; they’re there to help producers avoid the pitfalls and mistakes made in the original production, and to identify the shortcuts to make productions more efficient. These aren’t always obvious to experienced producers. A couple of days on the ground can mean the difference between a successful and profitable production and a costly show which fails to meet its potential.” Ensuring the success of an adaptation, however, starts much earlier in the process; before flying producers have been dispatched, format owners need to find the right production house to handle the local version.
288
World Screen
This is where having a network of production companies comes in handy, distributors note.“If you own a production company, then all the revenues and profits flow into your group,” says SPT’s Abrahams. “But there are territories where we have to bring in other people. Providing a high-quality compelling product that can be a signature for the client is the ultimate goal. Whether it goes to a wholly owned production company, a partly owned production company, or an individual that you know that you can set something up with or hire as an employee—the one thing that is important is that the people who execute our intellectual properties are top-notch creators and producers.” COOPERATIVE APPROACH
Endemol has a presence in 30-plus territories, Toumazis says. Outside of the network, “we find like-minded partners who have the same core values of strong creativity and a reputation for being reliable and delivering strong programming that works for our clients. There are also examples where we work with broadcasters who have their own production capabilities, but in every instance, we would have our own creative producers there to help ensure that the DNA of the property is maintained.” Zodiak also owns a large pool of production outlets worldwide, Shingleton says. “Ongoing relationships between Zodiak Rights and our partners in the Zodiak Media Group mean there is an easy flow of production expertise from one territory to another. Ultimately, this means a better product for our broadcaster clients. Although we enjoy working with new production companies in territories where we are not present, there’s nothing like working with established colleagues to make a great show.” When Zodiak has to a select a partner, it looks for outlets that have a “track record in producing similar sorts of shows. For example, if we’re looking for a production partner for Secret Millionaire, we need to find a company that has the passion, understanding, experience and sensitivity to replicate the success of the format in their own territory. We are unlikely to choose a producer that has never made a factualentertainment show before.” Ultimately, choosing the wrong partner can be costly, resulting in poor ratings for an adaptation, which could damage the value of the franchise as a whole. “If you don’t protect and stick to the soul of the format, it can lose its strength very fast,” says Banijay’s Spodsberg. That doesn’t mean, however, that rights-owners aren’t being flexible when it comes to local adaptations.“You can take a daytime game show that maybe is successful in a market like the U.K. and then you can adapt it to a local market and make it into a prime-time show, but the core of the game show must stay the same,” Spodsberg says. 4/11
FOR_0411_LEOPARD_Layout 1 3/14/11 2:56 PM Page 1
FOR_411_PRODUCTION_MODELS_DOC_0407_NIGHT 3/17/11 11:12 AM Page 5
24
TV FORMATS
Dating down under: The Australian version of FremantleMedia’s Farmer Wants a Wife is produced by its local operation for Nine Network.
Such is the case with Deal or No Deal,Toumazis says.“The U.S. version, U.K. version and the Australian version all have the same basic construct, but all are tailored specifically to their market, their broadcaster and their time slot: a major U.S. prime-time show, a stripped daily U.K. show that is made for late afternoon, and a 30-minute daily strip in access prime time in Australia.” Even more flexibility is required for factual-entertainment formats, Spodsberg says.“You often have to be quite open to local adaptations, because the local culture, local tone, local way of telling a story, local way of getting a message across, is key to creating a success. It’s about creating those clear format pillars that can be taken to whatever local adaptation you might choose.” SOLID STRUCTURE
FremantleMedia’s Clark takes a firm view on making changes to a format.“A format is a structure which the show actually sits in. The content of the show is the local element. We don’t let people just change formats willy-nilly because you’ve got some clever producer who thinks he knows better. We’re not a production company that sits there with one or two shows that have sold in a few territories. In this office, we’re looking after hundreds of shows around the world, and quite often they’re shows that have been made very well over a number of years and are still selling and are still gaining more viewers. So on the whole we don’t change formats. However, if somebody has got a very good idea, and they’re passionate about it and they really believe it’s the right way to do it, then they have to talk to a flying producer and then they have to talk to me and, if it’s a third-party format, with our partners. We will discuss it. The process isn’t static, but there are lots of checks in there. I was a producer and I love producers, but they think every idea they’ve got is fantastic, and it’s not always the case.These shows have to be loved and cared for because they are very valuable.” 290
World Screen
Evolution, however, is natural for formats that have been on the market for a long time, Clark adds. “If you look at The Price Is Right, it’s hardly changed from 1956 to present day, but if you look at the way it’s made now in most territories, it’s made very differently. The technology used and the speed of the game and the way it’s edited is very different, but the format is the same.” As SPT’s Abrahams stresses, the degree of flexibility you can have with a local adaptation is entirely dependent on the nature of the format itself. He uses as an example the scripted comedy Everybody Loves Raymond and how it was formatted in Russia. “The way the set looks is completely different from the original American version, so the living room and the kitchen are Russian rather than American.We make sure that the characters culturally fit the Russian society. There are some jokes in the original that we have to adapt to the Russian marketplace and the script has to be adjusted accordingly. But the fundamentals of the show are the same. It’s a great show because of the way it was composed, because of the way the episodes work, the way the jokes are done and how the confrontations between the different characters work. There is a certain level [of changes] you can make, but once you start touching the fundamentals of the show, you have to say stop. In the scripted world the scripts are the essence and they are written in a certain way for a very good reason.They’ve been tried out in multiple territories, so you can’t just change it completely and believe that you still have the same quality of show.” Ultimately, whatever model is used, respecting the original format is crucial, Abrahams adds. “A good show is a good show for a reason. There is a structure, there is a certain look and feel, there are entertainment brand values you have to respect so as not to kill the original idea.” 4/11
FOR_0411_AUDIOVISUAL_Layout 1 3/14/11 2:54 PM Page 1
FOR_411_TALENT_DOC_0407_NIGHT 3/15/11 5:42 PM Page 2
26
TV FORMATS
Televisa’s Singing for a Dream and Dancing for a Dream.
Got the
t n e l Ta
e-time staples, im pr r la pu po d ne ai m re ve ha ions Singing and dancing competit ase of evolution. By Kristin Brzoznowski and are entering their next ph because the industry has moved on. What viewers expect has
W
eek after week, season after season, talent competitions continue to take top billing on a number of the world’s biggest broadcasters. These shows have proved their staying power by consistently drawing huge numbers of viewers, making them must-have tent-pole programs for advertiser-hungry networks. The genre’s enduring appeal is epitomized by Idols. One of the most successful entertainment formats ever launched, Idols hit the air in 2001 and has since broadcast 167 series across 44 territories, scoring a solid track record of success in each country along the way. The singing competition is currently the most-watched TV series in the U.S. and is the only program to hold on to that coveted spot for seven consecutive seasons. In order to maintain its success over the years, the format has had a few facelifts. “Idols has its tenth birthday this year, which is actually fairly old for a format, but it certainly doesn’t look its age,” says Rob Clark, the president of worldwide entertainment at FremantleMedia.“Any format within that period of time will have had tweaks and changes, and Idols remails enormously popular because we’ve made sure it still feels fresh,” he says, noting that the core structure has always remained intact. “In terms of the people, what they sing, how it’s shot, how it’s edited, it looks very different,” explains Clark. “That’s 292
World Screen
moved on. If you look at the live shows, they have used new sets, new technology, new camera angles, new songs.” Other changes have included expanding the age limit for contestants and adjusting the number of judges on the panel.“You’re looking at a format which has not been kept in formaldehyde, which has been allowed to be tweaked to keep it relevant around the world,” Clark adds. THE TOTAL PACKAGE
FremantleMedia’s catalogue features a number of formats with a talent-competition angle, many of which have become megahits. The X Factor, a search for the next pop star, is among the biggest TV talent competitions in Europe. The format has aired in 23 countries, often rating as the number one show.After more than half a decade at the top of British television, The X Factor is making its way to the U.S. this fall. “The X Factor is an enormous entertainment spectacle,” Clark says. “It’s driven at its heart by the competition between the judges and the scale of the production. The auditions in America will take place in huge arenas. People who have never sung on a stage before, they’ll come out and face those superstar judges, the thousands of people in the arena, and it’s daunting. From a viewer experience, it’s spectacular.” 4/11
FOR_0411_TOAC_Layout 1 3/14/11 3:05 PM Page 1
FOR_411_TALENT_DOC_0407_NIGHT 3/16/11 4:34 PM Page 3
28
TV FORMATS
The right moves: BBC Worldwide’s hit celebrity-based dance format Dancing with the Stars is in its fourth season in India.
Another FremantleMedia format, Got Talent, features contestants showcasing a broader range of skills and performance styles. “It has huge figures around the world,” says Clark. “It’s pretty much in every major market and most minor markets at the moment and was 2010’s most successful travelling format.” While talent competitions have proved to be successful for FremantleMedia, Clark admits that there was a time when many believed the song-and-dance showcase was gone from TV for good. “When I was a young producer, I was told that we’d never have singing or dancing on television again, by very wise people,” he recalls. “Look how wrong they were.” DANCE FEVER
Indeed, dancing competitions have shown themselves as a force to be reckoned with. Among the most successful is BBC Worldwide’s Strictly Come Dancing, sold internationally as Dancing with the Stars. Having started as an amateur competition for ballroom dancing, the show was catapulted to new heights with the idea to use celebrity contestants. In 2010, the popular dance show was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s most successful reality-TV format. It has been sold to more than 35 countries around the world, with more than a quarter of a billion people estimated to have watched some version of the program since it was launched.“It’s sold to some of the biggest broadcasters in the world,” says Elin Thomas, the VP of format sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at BBC Worldwide.“An interesting thing about the format is that here we are quite a number of years since the original show premiered and we’re still doing firsts,” adds Duncan Cooper, the executive producer for formats and local productions at BBC Worldwide. “We had Albania, Greece and Vietnam last year, and we’ve got France and Indonesia coming out in a couple of months. It’s still selling!” Along with the celebrity allure, a key part of the format’s success is its universal themes. “The music is a big element, 294
World Screen
and one of the things that makes it work is a combination of the traditional dancing and the modern music,” says Cooper. Each country has its own unique flavor in this regard, and the show is easily adapted to incorporate the local styles. Cooper notes examples of India’s Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, which features Bollywood dance numbers, and Bulgaria’s Dancing Stars, which has traditional folk dancing alongside more modern routines. Televisa Internacional has put its own spin on the music-and-dance competition genre, with titles such as Singing for a Dream, Dancing for a Dream and Dancing for the Wedding of My Dreams. “If you win any of these competitions, you will have the chance to change the life of a loved one,” explains José Luis Romero, the director of formats and new content at Televisa. “There is no money or flashy prizes involved, just the goodwill to make a difference in someone’s life.That’s our plus.” These formats have been produced in a range of territories, from Latin America (Ecuador, Costa Rica, Peru) to Eastern Europe (Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania). Most of the pickups have been from free-TV stations, Romero notes, and the formats are nearly always placed in prime time. Romero says the shows get a great response from audiences, since they tap into viewers’ personal dreams and motivations. Maintaining a loyal audience is just one of the benefits these formats can offer a broadcaster, he points out. “They open a wide window for ancillary business, and they also promote the broadcaster’s altruistic and goodwill image.” GO TO THE PROS
The combination of music and dance has also translated into success for Strix International’s Floor Filler. The show features 12 young men and women who hone their talents with the help of professionals at a dance academy. “Floor Filler is vastly different compared to other dance and talent shows on the market,” says Mia Engström, the director of Strix International. “Most dance-based formats consist of a weekly prime-time show, but with Floor Filler the format is stripped five days a week with a weekly prime-time danceoff.” She adds, “By offering viewers shiny floors, glamour and setting up a dance academy with professional dance teachers, we get to know and follow the dancers’ hardships and their daily struggles to become the nation’s best dancer.” Engström says that the format can play across daytime, access prime or prime time, and is suitable for either free TV or pay TV. “The show provides a strong lead-in to the right target groups and builds a strong brand that hopefully will last for several seasons, thus giving the broadcaster a faithful audience that tunes in every day on various platforms.” In an evolution of the dance genre, ITV Studios Global Entertainment’s Dancing on Ice takes contestants away from the dance floor and onto a more challenging performance space. Tobi de Graaff, ITV’s director of global television distribution, explains: “Dancing on Ice takes celebrities through an incredible journey; most of them have never even danced before, let alone on ice. The show is an impressive investment of time and energy; we see celebrities’ triumphs, their disap4/11
FOR_0411_ARMOZA_Layout 1 3/14/11 2:55 PM Page 1
FOR_411_TALENT_DOC_0407_NIGHT 3/17/11 11:15 AM Page 4
30
TV FORMATS
Blades of glory: ITV Studios’ Dancing on Ice features celebrity contestants training with professional ice skaters.
pointments and their physical transformation. For many, we also witness them overcoming their fear of performing on ice, something the audience can easily relate to.” He continues, “It is this, along with the scale and quality of production and pure show-business glamour, that sets Dancing on Ice apart from other formats in the genre.” SIZE MATTERS
ket where it wouldn’t work....The fact that it’s so affordable [means] there’s not going to be a shortage of materials. So for a broadcaster who wants a daily slot filled and who wants to build up loyalty in that way, this would be a really good show.” At-home interactivity is a trend that’s been increasingly popular for TV’s singing-and-dancing talent competitions. For its tenth season, American Idol extended its audition process online to MySpace for the first time ever. Also, The X Factor is in talks to open up voting to the web via Facebook and its more than 500 million members. As technology continues to shape the way viewers interact with programming, these formats will no doubt also adapt to their media-savvy audiences, adding another innovative element to keep the talent-competition genre fresh and viewers plugged in to their favorite formats.
Dancing on Ice is an ambitious large-scale production, which is why its broadcasters use it as a prime-time anchor for the season. However, producing a show of this size isn’t feasible for all broadcasters, de Graaff admits. “Not everyone can work on the same budget. However, our expectations for the program remain high. So our job is to go the extra mile to come up with a budget and a show which delivers on the quality of production we and our customers expect from the Dancing on Ice brand and ITV Studios’ formats.” Not all dance formats are as costly to produce. An example of this is MTV Networks International’s (MTVNI) Dance Cam Slam, a new multiplatform competition series from VH1 making its debut at MIPTV. “For VH1 and all our broadcast licensees around the world, it’s fantastic because they can actually get into the forum of doing talent shows in a way that’s [less risky],” says Caroline Beaton, MTVNI’s senior VP of international program sales. “Dance Cam Slam has got a proven track record. We’ve got the infrastructure to cast it and run it and can do it in a way that’s cost-effective, and then broadcasters can make the in-studio piece as ambitious as they want, depending on what slot they’re looking at.” Unlike most dance shows on the market, Dance Cam Slam has its genesis in the digital world. Contestants upload their dance auditions to the show’s website and ten are chosen to compete live each week using their home web cam.The at-home audience votes via text message, and can also comment through Twitter and possibly even have their tweets appear during the show. Beaton says, however, that even though it’s not as costly to produce,“there’s no reason this wouldn’t go head-to-head with some of the really ambitious and established dance formats around the world and talent slots. It could also be a X marks the spot: FremantleMedia’s The X Factor airs in a number of much more kind of niche, late-night play.There’s no mar- countries, including Germany, and will soon launch in the U.S. 296
World Screen
4/11
FOR_411_ARMOZA DELICIOUS_Layout 1 3/15/11 6:24 PM Page 1
FOR_0411_ABRAHAMS_DOC_0407_NIGHT 3/15/11 5:30 PM Page 2
32
TV FORMATS
Sony Pictures Television’s
Kees Abrahams The first Hollywood studio to embrace the model of producing content outside of the U.S., Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has built up a broad network of wholly owned and joint-venture production partners across the globe. Historically a leader in scripted formats based on its deep catalogue of dramas and comedies, SPT extended its library and its production expertise with its 2008 acquisition of the Dutch-based 2waytraffic. That deal brought a host of hit formats to the SPT catalogue, as well as the format experience of 2waytraffic’s CEO, Kees Abrahams, today the president of international production at SPT. He speaks to TV Formats about the growth prospects for SPT’s global production business.
By Mansha Daswani
TV FORMATS: Your most recent joint-venture partnership
was in Brazil. Do you see opportunities in other territories for acquiring a company or setting up a joint venture? ABRAHAMS: With Elisabetta Zenatti [we set up] SPT’s Floresta in Brazil. We’re constantly on the lookout for additions to the international network of production companies.We’re also constantly looking out for people we can hire as employees, who can help us extend the catalogue and produce more shows. So, the answer is yes, yes, yes. All top-notch talent is most welcome in our business. TV FORMATS: What criteria do you look for in a production company if you’re thinking about buying or partnering with them? ABRAHAMS: There are three criteria that are absolutely key for us. We’re looking for local partners who can sell our shows to the local clients, the broadcast networks and the cable stations. Someone that has a good track record and has been in the business for a long period of time and has consistently sold original TV shows to local clients is someone we would eye. We would also eye that person or that company or joint-venture partner if they have a proven track record of creating new intellectual property rights. And then, obviously, if we find that the creative slate of such an individual or such a company has the opportunity to travel somewhere else, then we are even more keen. The third criterion is that we’re looking for people who produce high-quality shows. If we find those three elements together—and, by the way, if we also see an opportunity to make some money!—then yes, we’d be looking for that person or company. 298
World Screen
TV FORMATS: Given the breadth of your network, how do
you ensure that best practices and creative ideas are shared across the group? ABRAHAMS: What we have is a format-protection system, processes we go through and criteria that must be met before we move forward with a format. There is a big effort made coordinating all our international companies and partners.We organize a global creative council meeting, a get-together between all the creators and the producers in the group, and we compare notes. We prioritize what formats we believe have the biggest potential and we inform each other [about the projects each company is working on]. Sometimes you get a buy-in from multiple territories on a certain idea, and then that idea will become a more global priority on the list of creative ideas. There’s lots of communication going on, which is aggregated by Mike Morley, [executive VP and chief creative officer, international production], and his group, and so he will prioritize the more strategic formats, whether they are internal or external, and take them to the next level. TV FORMATS: It’s all much more complicated than selling
completed programming! ABRAHAMS: This business is like a bakery; we make fresh
shows every day! It’s good and it’s bad. It’s bad because it’s complicated, but it’s good because the community that we have, which includes creators, producers and the local sales people, are all people that are so passionate about making television and they are all so creative in the whole process. Until the very last minute they try to make it better, more beautiful, more compelling. TV FORMATS: What are the greatest challenges you see
going forward, and what are the greatest opportunities, in the format business? ABRAHAMS: I feel that at this point there is more opportunity than there was a year ago, with the economic recovery slowly kicking in.You see an additional demand for daytime television rather than just the demand for prime-time signature shows. The budgets are slightly opening up again, which is good for game shows, good for shows like Dr. Oz and other talk-magazine formats.You see more and more brands wanting to directly invest in television production, like P&G [Procter & Gamble] or Google. And last but certainly not least, if you look at the digital world, there’s a raft of opportunities there. Off the air, there’s a lot you can do with your content, and we’re only scratching the surface. The challenge we have is increased competition. There’s consolidation taking place in Europe among TV production companies, and the usual suspects are continuing to hunt talent, like we do. In addition, we’re all competing for the same time slots. But I’m quite confident that, as we have a very good creative slate in both scripted and nonscripted and we have a nice balanced catalogue, and digital opportunities, we’re well positioned. I’m quite confident about the marketplace. 4/11
FOR_0411_MEDIASET_Layout 1 3/14/11 3:03 PM Page 1
FOR_0411_FROUMAN_DOC_0407_NIGHT 3/15/11 5:29 PM Page 2
34
TV FORMATS
With investments in TV production companies and partnerships with leading format creators, Red Arrow Entertainment Group has already, in the little more than a year that it has been around, offered a number of hit shows to the international market. As part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Group, Red Arrow also has access to stations across Europe and can benefit from SevenOne International’s distribution expertise. Jan Frouman, Red Arrow’s managing director, talks about his growth strategy for the company.
By Anna Carugati
TV FORMATS: What has been your strategy for
finding formats from many different territories? FROUMAN: We tend to have three primary sources
for formats. The first would be the production companies within our group. We have looked for partners and production companies where local development is very much a part of the company’s DNA. We are not simply interested in having an execution house in a territory that waits for new shows to get delivered.We want to see ideas come out of those companies as well. My Man Can is a perfect example. It was created by our German production company, and it has now been sold to 20-plus countries, and we’re going into production in three of our own channel countries. When I say channel countries, I mean the ProSiebenSat.1 Group’s countries where a Red Arrow company will be producing the local version of My Man Can. So that’s a great rollout story for us, with its roots in the local development of a group production company. The other place we’ve been sourcing product is with exclusive development deals, primarily the deal we did with Dick de Rijk [the creator of Deal or No Deal]. We’re finding creative partners who we believe can really put some gas in the tank. We’ve now sold the first of Dick’s latest creations to ABC in the States. And Kinetic Content [run by Chris Coelen], our company in the U.S., will produce it. So that’s great news for us. That’s a big step forward. We also have a development partner in Israel, a very young, creative, comedy-focused executive named Omri Marcus, and we’re seeing that some of his formats are already generating discussions among our production companies—i.e., one or more of them is getting excited about them for their local territories. I expect to see his formats being taken to networks this year. The third source is from third parties. Our distribution house has a nice footing in both camps. That is, formats that we own and control and then formats we represent. So, if I take something like Benidorm Bastards, it’s a Belgian show that was brought to our attention via our network in Belgium because it was airing against them on a competing network. And we got into a discussion with the producer and reached an arrangement to distribute the show around the world.That’s only possible if third-party producers know that they are going to be well treated within a distribution house. I think SevenOne International, under Jens [Richter]’s leadership, has been excellent at doing that. Producers don’t get buried in our catalogue. They’re taken care of in a proper way and they don’t bump into our agenda elsewhere, whether it be in the production space or the broadcast space.
Red Arrow’s
Jan Frouman
TV FORMATS: Having a station group behind you and a dis-
tribution company in place must be very convenient. 300
World Screen
FROUMAN: Yes, they underpinned a lot of the strategic thinking from the get-go.When we launched the company, we said, we’re no longer just a German group. We’re a 12-country, 25channel group. We are already in the distribution business. We are already, to a certain degree, in the production business. Does it not make sense to start making more strategic moves with respect to development, production and distribution? And that’s why we set up Red Arrow. We basically took SevenOne and brought it into Red Arrow. It’s the sales house and the anchor for the group. We also took our existing production companies and brought them under the roof, and then started to build out. I would say we’ve built from the inside out. The inside being the channel territories and the outside being those territories that we really thought were must-have to put us on the map. So, the [investment in] Kinetic in the U.S.— great partner, great team, just the right point of time in its life in an absolutely must-have market.We’re going to do the same thing in the U.K. We’ve already partnered with two very seasoned executives there and we’re going to build out a nonscripted and scripted presence. That’s another territory where we really think we need to be active. We did a co-production deal with Granada in Australia, a territory that we think is very important. In other territories, like Scandinavia, we’ve already launched, rolled out from Sweden into Denmark, and then the next step would be to add Norway to the group’s footprint. But again, that’s channel territory and also a fantastically interesting creative territory. We’re in “evaluation mode” in a number of [other] countries. I think Israel is on a lot of people’s lists as a really interesting creative market.We see it from our development partner there and, who knows, maybe we’ll do something more substantial in that territory just because it’s so creatively vibrant. 4/11
FOR_0411_TELEFE_Layout 1 3/15/11 10:16 AM Page 1
FOR_0411_LAMBERT_DOC_0407_NIGHT 3/15/11 5:31 PM Page 2
36
TV FORMATS
Studio Lambert’s
Stephen Lambert Best known for such hits as
Wife Swap, Secret Millionaire and, more recently, Undercover Boss for Channel 4 in the U.K. and CBS in the U.S., Stephen Lambert has been in the business of successfully formatting shows for some time now. With his latest venture, Studio Lambert, set up with ALL3MEDIA some three years ago, Lambert is continuing his legacy with a new crop of shows, including The Fairy Jobmother , which was commissioned by Lifetime in the U.S. and Channel 4 in the U.K. As CEO of the transatlantic outfit, he is keen to ensure that all Studio Lambert titles have strong international legs. He talks to TV Formats about executing that strategy.
By Kristin Brzoznowski
TV FORMATS: How much of an advantage is it to have pro-
duction offices in both the U.K. and the U.S.? LAMBERT: If your focus is to make programs in America,
then to have a pipeline of ideas coming from the U.K. makes all the difference. I think that Britain is the best place in the world to sell a paper idea for a format, probably because of the way in which British broadcasting has developed over the last 30 or 40 years. There’s a great pressure to innovate, and broadcasters expect to buy formats from paper. Also, because of the way in which the relationship between the independent producers and the broadcasters has developed, the rights situation on those ideas is very good for the independents. They’re in a position where they can then take those format rights and sell them around the world, and if you have production capacity in the States, you can then make those formats in the States. It’s a tremendous advantage for producers in the U.S. who have that connection to the U.K., compared to producers in America who don’t. If you’re developing a paper format in the U.S. and pitch to American buyers, they’re pretty resistant to recognizing a paper format as a format. TV FORMATS: How are the development and pitching processes different in the U.S. and Britain? LAMBERT: The pitching process and the development processes are quite different. In the British market, a lot of the buyers like to develop the program with you, so you will often have meetings with broadcasters where you pretty much create an idea together.You might have a notion and then they like working it through with you. As a result, 302
World Screen
understandably, they expect you to keep the idea just with them while you’re developing it. Whereas in the States, there’s much more of a sense that you have to have your idea very clearly defined, and that you will then take that idea to all the buyers at once. In fact, buyers in the U.S. expect to hear all ideas, and they get very irritated if they haven’t had an opportunity to bid for an idea. In Britain, that isn’t the case; you would expect that lots of ideas are only offered to one buyer. If that buyer wants one they will start working on it with you and the other broadcasters never get to hear [about] it. TV FORMATS: What are the greatest differences between the
British and American adaptations of your formats? LAMBERT: In terms of adapting, there are obvious stylistic
differences. Broadcast networks in America generally don’t like having commentary, with a narrator explaining what’s going on. They like to have the characters tell their own stories.The programs are also shorter, so consequently they have to move that much faster. And there are more commercial breaks, so there’s a greater need to have cliff-hangers that will take you across those ad breaks. When adapting formats for American TV, everything in the show has to be directly communicated to the audience; there’s less tolerance of ambiguity in America. It has to be very clear as to what point, factual or emotional, that you’re trying to make. There’s also a big difference as to what kinds of programs work. The British audience tends to be more cynical. Britain could never have a show like The West Wing, for instance.You couldn’t do a drama about the British Prime Minister that was essentially a celebration of “the gang” around the Prime Minister. In Britain you could only do a scripted show about the Prime Minister that was a satire or that was essentially critical of the political system.You couldn’t have something that was celebratory of it. I think that is one of the reasons that Undercover Boss is such a big show in America, because the American public has a greater capacity for wanting to believe in their corporations than a lot of British viewers do. TV FORMATS: How did The Fairy Jobmother manage to strike a chord with audiences on both sides of the Atlantic? LAMBERT: There are differences [in the appeal of the show in both territories]. The British tabloid newspapers have a long tradition of running stories on people who are living on [welfare] benefits and questioning whether they are “scroungers” refusing to work and living off benefits. That doesn’t exist in the same way in America. So, it makes the shows different and the appeal of The Fairy Jobmother in both territories is different. In Britain people like to make a judgment about whether these people are serious about wanting to find a job or whether they are actually happy to stay on benefits. That is of less interest to American viewers because people aren’t thinking that way. There is a much greater assumption in America that everyone wants to get a job. 4/11
TVFORMATS_HOUSE_AD_03_2011_Layout 1 3/17/11 11:57 AM Page 1
Visit
S W . S T A M R O F V T The only website servicing the format industry.
FOR_411_BANIJAY_DOC_0407_NIGHT 3/17/11 12:30 PM Page 2
38
TV FORMATS
: y d u t s e s a C
Banijay’s Sold! By Kristin Brzoznowski As the saying goes, what’s old is new again. Indeed, Banijay International certainly believes in leveraging the potential of a classic format to secure continued sales by reinvigorating the concept. Such is the case with the property guessing game Sold! The original format watches as two teams of professional real estate agents try to guess the price of houses that have just been sold. The show takes audiences inside all sorts of housing in different parts of the country, feeding viewers’ inquisitive minds. “I think [everyone] is very curious to see how their neighbors are actually living,” says Karoline Spodsberg, the managing director of Banijay International. “The format…gives a sneak peek into other people’s homes. That basic curiosity on how other people live and what their houses look like is the main driver of this format,” she adds. Originally created in Denmark, Sold! is set to enter its 17th season on DR, and is distributed as part of Banijay International’s overall deal with the Danish broadcaster. The show was recently recommissioned for a second season by Norway’s NRK, where its first run consistently outperformed the channel’s average share, peaking with 49.4 percent during its Wednesday time slot. As a result of this success, the Norwegian pubcaster has signed on for a further 12 episodes, six of which aired at the end of 2010 and a further six are slated for spring 2011. Sold! has also been recommissioned in Sweden, where the fourth season on TV4 has been expanded to a full commercial hour (44 minutes) and has new features integrated for the next eight-episode run. Banijay relaunched the format, extended and reversioned, at NATPE earlier this year. 304
World Screen
As part of the revamp, Sold! now has the international element that some of the episodes will take place abroad, with the agents guessing the price of real estate in a foreign city. Spodsberg believes this adds to the show’s appeal because “more and more people are choosing to invest in houses abroad, with vacation homes or houses where they live during the wintertime.” She is also upbeat about the show’s extended running time. “To have a commercial hour can be easier to schedule and adapt abroad than a half-hour slot,” she explains. Ultimately, what Spodsberg believes is the best selling point for Sold! is its established track record. “There is proven success of the format, and the world will get their eyes open to this once again. It’s very cheap to produce and is very cost efficient. The main driver, what makes this format work, is something that is quite universal: human beings are, by definition, curious!” The rollout schedule for the revamped format kicked off at NATPE, continuing throughout the year and is part of Banijay’s MIPTV slate. Spodsberg says the format will also be top of mind for Banijay’s sales executives who are constantly on the road. “Because this format has been around for a while, it’s something that when visiting a client, discussing their scheduling and what they’re looking for, is easy to bring up again and rediscuss. I think the sales will very much be based on the local visits from our sales team.” Spodsberg adds that a “solid, classic format with a good production value and good record” is always something of interest for buyers. “There are many slots to be filled and buyers want security in every time slot they are filling. It’s very important to have a broad range of formats in your portfolio; a smaller but more classic and solid format is often something that is good for business in the long run.” 4/11
FOR_0411_FOX_LOOK_Layout 1 3/17/11 2:11 PM Page 1
FOR_0411_FREMANTLE_BC_Layout 1 3/14/11 2:52 PM Page 1