MIPTV: The Week in Formats

It was a busy week for formats at MIPTV last week. TV Formats Weekly recaps the flurry of deals and discerns the latest trends in the market.

Game shows are back in a big way. That was the consensus among numerous format distributors we caught up with in Cannes last week. And it was a trend that was fairly clear in the deals that were announced in the run-up to and during MIPTV.

FremantleMedia used the market as a platform to launch Troubleshooter, the second project to come out of its creative exchange alliance with Fuji Television Network. The alliance, first announced at MIPTV 2010, sees executives from both companies spending time at each other’s operations with the aim of co-developing and co-producing new television formats for the international market. The first project out of the exchange was Total Blackout, which has successfully been adapted in a number of territories. The new format, Troubleshooter, was developed while Jason Tegelaar, director of development and new media at FremantleMedia’s Dutch production arm Blue Circle, was working within Fuji TV’s headquarters in Tokyo.

Also new to the market was Impossible?, a game show from GroupM Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television’s 2waytraffic. Commissioned by Channel 5 in the U.K., the format made its international debut at MIPTV as one of 2waytraffic’s key highlights. “From Harry Houdini to David Blaine, the art of illusion is one of the most powerful ways to captivate and entertain audiences everywhere,” said Ed Louwerse, 2waytraffic’s managing director. “Combining these jaw-dropping illusions with the competition of a game show, Impossible? is a brilliant new way to create compelling, appointment viewing across all age groups and nationalities."

Another game show that made headlines in Cannes was the Dick de Rijk feel-good title You Deserve It. Already in the works in the U.S. for ABC, the SevenOne International format closed new deals with German, Italian and Middle Eastern partners. “You Deserve It is an emotional rollercoaster with an incredibly touching finale,” Jens Richter, SevenOne International’s managing director, said of the appeal of the show.

SevenOne also found success with My Man Can. VT4 in Belgium, SBS6 in the Netherlands and SBS in Denmark are set to produce their own versions of the show, which is also slated for a May debut on SAT.1.

ALL3MEDIA International announced a number of new international partners on the Objective Productions’ format The Cube. Ukraine’s STB went for a 12-episode run for The Cube and Germany’s RTL is now in pre-production on a two-hour long special to air this spring. Plus, in Italy, Mediaset will be co-producing a first season with Objective Productions. Fabrizio Battocchio, the head of the format departmentat RTI spa at Mediaset Group, said the game show is "full of suspense and high emotions."

Also in Italy, Endemol has picked up Dori Media Group’s interactive reality-based game show uMan, for launch of a local version on Italia 1.

One of the world’s best-known reality competitions, meanwhile, is returning to the U.K.; Big Brother is headed to Channel 5 in a two-year deal after being dropped by Channel 4 last year.  Jeff Ford, Channel 5’s director of programs, said the show—with both celebrity and non-celebrity versions slated—“will form a key part of this year’s schedule. The series has previously captivated a decade of television viewers and we aim to bring Channel 5’s energy, optimism and vibrancy to the series.”

Elsewhere in the entertainment space, Imagina International Sales has optioned its docu-reality format Hotel Stories to FremantleMedia on a worldwide basis. This extends a recent deal between Imagina and FremantleMedia for the format in Northern and Southern Europe. ITV Studios Global Entertainment secured its 13th international version of the hit Four Weddings. The TF1 edition, to be produced by ITV Studios France, launches later this year as a series of one-hour episodes. And Banijay International firmed up its first commission on Respirator’s entertainment format Celebrity Stand-Up. TV2 Networks in Denmark will air the show as 24 stripped episodes. “With this totally unique and entertaining comedy format, Banijay is responding to the increased demand for international comedy that travels,” said Karoline Spodsberg, the managing director of Banijay International. "Celebrity Stand-Up satisfies viewers’ curiosity about the stars they love while offering them a rollercoaster ride of humor, fear and bravery."

There was plenty of news generated by talent-search formats. FremantleMedia Enterprises, for example, did a new deal with MBC in the Middle East for Idols and Got Talent. MBC Group will produce three seasons of a pan-Arabic Idols series and two new seasons of Got Talent. Talpa’s The Voice Of… generated several headlines, with versions in the works for Finland by Banijay’s Solar Television for Nelonen; and Germany by Talpa and Schwarzkopff TV for ProSiebenSat.1. And Sony Pictures Television’s 2waytraffic licensed Dancing Nation to broadcasters in Brazil, Australia, Ukraine and the Philippines. In Brazil, TV Globo is set to air its version of the format later this year. In Australia, Nine Network closed a deal for a one-hour special. Ukraine’s 1+1 commissioned 12 episodes and TV5 in the Philippines ordered 13 episodes.

Another key trend in the market is the rising popularity of scripted formats. Sony, for example, announced deals on the first day of MIPTV for local-language versions of Everybody Loves Raymond for Israel and Poland. TVN in Poland is to receive 30 episodes, while Reshet in Israel has a 33-episode order.

FremantleMedia is looking to roll out versions of The Clan, a new daily drama it is developing for RTL Croatia. “FremantleMedia has a strong history of developing some of the world’s leading serial and daily dramas and we are very excited to see The Clan (wt) coming to air this autumn on RTL Croatia," said Daniela Matei, the CEO for Nordics, Central Eastern Europe & Balkans at FremantleMedia. "This drama is the perfect example of original content that has been developed by our team in Croatia to suit the local market, and we see enormous potential for it to travel internationally as a scripted format.”

Another company that saw gains in its scripted-format business was DRG, which sold Shameless to Ukraine and Doc Martin to Greece. Ukraine’s 1+1 has ordered 24 locally produced hour-long episodes of Shameless. And in Greece, Kappa Studios is working on a local adaptation of Doc Martin. “These are two of the U.K.’s highest rating prime-time drama exports,” said Anke Stoll, the head of acquisitions and scripted development at DRG. "Building a scripted format brand takes a very strategic and timely approach. We intensively research our target market to find the best-matched producer for the local adaptation, ensuring that they share the same values and ambitions for the title. Which in return, will produce a very successful result.”