John de Mol

July 13, 2009 World Screen
April 2009
 
During a late-night brainstorming session with his staff, John de Mol came up with the idea for Big Brother. The show, today distributed internationally by Endemol, helped foster the beginning of reality television and became a worldwide hit. De Mol has since set up the Talpa Media Group and keeps churning out successful formats.
 
WS: In what way did your shows, including Big Brother, change the TV landscape?
DE MOL: In the year 2000, Big Brother was an almost instant success that conquered the world thanks, in part, to the enormous attention the show attracted in the international news media. And, of course, it deserved a lot of attention because it was completely new. I am a modest man, but you may say that Big Brother [paved the way] for a new genre in television and helped to modernize the TV landscape.
 
WS: How did hit reality shows like Big Brother change the attitudes of the U.S. studios and networks?
DE MOL: First, there was Paul Smith from the U.K.-based company Celador, whose format Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? became a tremendous success on ABC in the U.S. Shortly afterward, we produced Big Brother for CBS. I think this convinced American broadcasters that successful ideas could come from abroad.
 
WS: In today’s difficult economy, with broadcasters having to reduce their programming budgets, which type of reality shows perform best? Which are the most cost-effective and deliver the best results?
DE MOL: In the current market conditions, you see a tendency to move into more non-scripted on-location reality shows or small studio shows. We deliver the two best performing prime-time shows on RTL 4 in the Netherlands, which fit very well the spirit of the current time. One is called Celebrities on Welfare,which is an intriguing formatted reality docu-soap, a show that creates awareness for the less fortunate and how to deal with fewer financial resources. And I Love My Country is the number one prime-time show on RTL 4. It’s about entertaining facts. Sometimes people wish to forget the bad news and fall back on pure entertainment.
 
WS: What are some of the new formats you are working on?
DE MOL: Your Newsflash reported the news that ABC in the U.S. picked up six episodes of our new dating format Dating in the Dark. At MIPTV, we will also be presenting our funny new quiz show Pretty Smart, which will launch on RTL 5 in the Netherlands this April. And, of course, we are constantly developing new formats. We have just piloted two new shows you will hear more about in the near future.
 
WS: When developing formats, how important is it to include some level of interactivity with the audience?
DE MOL: The media landscape has become more diverse, which we see as a challenge, as it brings in more opportunities to create content on different platforms and it may bring more business for all parties involved. But, of course, it’s not that easy. Interactivity has to be an organic part of the format and not simply added on.
 
WS: What challenges is the reality genre facing today?
DE MOL: In general, the same challenges that all genres are facing. Within Talpa we develop new ideas for different TV genres, and “new ideas” is the name of the game. When it comes to reality, we look at possible ways to find a mix with scripted programming. We did so, for example, in The Golden Cage, a format that ran for almost two years as a daily show in Holland on TV and on the Internet as well.
 
WS: With more companies developing formats, is it more difficult to find new ideas that will stand out?
DE MOL: There are not many companies that have a total focus on content creation like Talpa has. Apart from developing formats, the execution is essential as well in order to keep a close eye on quality. Within Talpa we produce all our formats in-house, where the development of the format is key, while production and distribution play a secondary role. Besides this, Talpa is in the position to easily fund the production of pilots, if necessary.
 
WS: How do you foster creativity among your team?

DE MOL: Within Talpa it’s all about content creation for all different platforms with a more centralized focus on television. With Talpa Content we have an experienced full-force creative team that I am personally very much involved with. We develop premium content, produce all developed formats in-house and, because of our extensive network nationally and internationally, are able to position our titles efficiently in the market.